Some have argued that facilities, particularly nursing homes and rural providers, will lose critical staff who are unwilling to be vaccinated. While some workers have quit, and others might do the same because of CMS’s mandate, there is substantial evidence that vaccine requirements significantly increase vaccination rates — by at least 10 to 20 percentage points — especially when implemented with effective outreach and incentives. This has led to greater staff confidence in workplace safety and thus greater ability to provide critical health services safely. Duke Health, where one of us, Mark, is on the faculty, has achieved more than 99 percent vaccination through a systemwide requirement coupled with outreach, education and steps to make vaccination easy. We believe there is a greater risk to the labor pool from illness from covid-19 than from a vaccine requirement.
Opinion | We both led Medicare and Medicaid. Biden’s vaccine mandate for health-care workers must stand. – The Washington Post