All Hackensack Meridian workers are going be required to get the Covid vaccine effective October 1 or face termination. In an email to all employees Hackensack Meridian stated the following:

HMH is committed to a culture of safety. Over the past year, we have used every tool at our disposal to protect patients and team members from COVID-19. Since December this has included a massive vaccination effort that we have helped lead across our network and the entire state of New Jersey. 

We have made an important policy decision regarding vaccination.

Effective October 1, 2021, HMH will require all team members, physicians, volunteers, vendors and consultants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 – receiving at least one dose of either Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J, and the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna by November 15, 2021. 

Those who remain unvaccinated without an approved exemption, will be subject to suspension, and continued non-compliance will result in termination. 

Limited exemptions may be granted to the extent required by law for those who apply by the August 16 deadline and have a qualifying medical condition or religious/strongly held belief. 

The decision to require COVID-19 vaccination was not made lightly and reflects similar policies already in place for influenza and other mandatory vaccines. 

  • The vaccines continue to demonstrate that they are not only safe, but highly effective. In fact, recent data show that nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the United States are now occurring among unvaccinated individuals, demonstrating the incredible efficacy of the vaccines.
  • Patients and the community are requesting to be treated by caregivers and providers who are vaccinated.
  • Different variants are proving to be more contagious and dangerous than the original strain. Unvaccinated patients and team members are the overwhelming majority of people contracting COVID-19. 
  • Mandatory vaccination will not only help to stop new variants from popping up, it will also give our patients and visitors the peace of mind they are asking for and deserve.
  • With more than 2 billion doses of the vaccines administered worldwide, there is more safety and efficacy data on the COVID-19 vaccines than we would normally see in even multi-year clinical trials.

Before making this important decision, I first held extensive discussions with our COVID Task Force that includes senior leaders from across the network, including Daniel W. Varga, MD, chief physician executive and Linda McHugh, executive vice president and chief experience and people officer. I also consulted with health care colleagues from across the nation. 

Our decision has been further supported by multiple organizations which have issued statements calling for mandatory vaccination for health care personnel this week. A coalition of health-care organizations, including the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called for COVID-19 vaccination to be a condition of employment for all health care personnel, saying the strategy has worked to fight influenza and other infectious diseases and is necessary to contain the pandemic. In addition, the American College of Physicians website posted “The Case for Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines for Health Care Workers”and Becker’s Healthcare has a running list of health care organizations announcing mandatory policies. 

We are proud of our vaccination efforts so far, with more than 70 percent of our team members vaccinated. However, the more time we give this virus to spread, the more time we give it to mutate. 

We want to give our patients, visitors and each other peace of mind, and the best way to do that is by requiring COVID-19 vaccination. We understand this may be a significant decision for some and encourage you to direct your questions to the Occupational Health COVID-19 Hotline at 732-897-3800, Option 2.  

Thank you, again, for all that you have done and continue to do to help us fulfill our mission and provide quality, safe and compassionate care to our patients.

Bob Garrett

CEO