(PORTLAND, Ore.) Gov. Kate Brown’s office and state health officials announced Wednesday that healthcare workers in Oregon will need to show proof of vaccination or submit weekly COVID-19 tests starting at the end of September, KATU reports.
The stricter rules for healthcare workers that have direct or indirect contact with patients are an effort to prevent the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, according to the governor’s office.
To give employees who are not yet vaccinated time to get fully immunized against COVID-19, employers have until Sept. 30 to implement the rules.
“The more contagious delta variant has changed everything,” Brown said. “This new safety measure is necessary to stop delta from causing severe illness among our first line of defense: our doctors, nurses, medical students and frontline healthcare workers. Protecting our frontline healthcare workers through vaccination will also enhance the safety of the patients in their care.”
In response to the new rules, Scott Palmer with the Oregon Nurses Association applauded the announcement from health officials as a “sensible approach which respects the individual choices of healthcare workers while also protecting public health.”
Becky Hultberg, the president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospital and Health Systems, also released a statement, saying:
Throughout the pandemic, Oregon’s hospitals have been committed to safeguarding the health of our patients, visitors and workers. We support today’s action by Governor Brown, which will require healthcare workers in Oregon to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested regularly for the virus. With these additional tools we can better respond to this evolving pandemic and provide the safest possible environment for those who depend on us.
Health officials have been prompting more Oregonians to get vaccinated as the delta variant has spread throughout the state in recent weeks.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 are on the rise, and one doctor from Oregon Health and Sciences University said the intensive care unit is full of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, per KATU.
According to data from the Oregon Health Authority, 84% of Oregonians in their 70s are vaccinated whereas less than 60% of people in their 20s have received a vaccine.
The new rules are only set to apply to healthcare workers but the governor’s office and local health officials are urging other businesses to consider incentives to get more employees vaccinated.