Mayo sending out final warnings to unvaccinated staff
Mayo Clinic says it will issue final written warnings to unvaccinated employees on Friday ahead of its Jan. 3 vaccination deadline.
The written warnings will be put out instead of placing unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave, as was originally announced.
A Mayo spokesperson said the adjustment was made “to avoid placing additional stress on vaccinated staff and potentially having to revoke previously approved paid time off in December.”
Despite dropping the unpaid leave date, Mayo says it will remain firm regarding its Jan. 3 vaccination deadline. By that time, employees must receive their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine or be approved for a medical or religious exemption to continue working with the organization.
As of this week, 93 percent of Mayo’s approximately 73,000 employees have received at least one dose of a vaccine, up from 88 percent in October.
The spokesperson also said that a “number of staff have received medical and religious exemptions,” though they declined to cite a specific number.
The Clinic has come under some criticism recently for its exemption process. Last week, a group of four Republican state legislators, including Rep. Steve Drazkowski, of Mazeppa, wrote a letter to Mayo CEO Dr. Gianrico Farrugia stating they have heard from “many Mayo Clinic employees who are beyond distressed by the vaccine mandate that is being forced on them.”
“These constituents and Minnesotans expressed their concerns when Mayo Clinic first announced that a vaccine mandate would be imposed on all staff,” reads the letter. “However, these frustrations have grown exponentially in recent weeks as Mayo Clinic has consistently rejected applications for religious exemptions to the mandate.”
Mayo, however, has offered no indication it would reconsider the mandate, stating Thursday: “While Mayo Clinic does not want to lose any of its valued staff, Mayo remains firmly committed to requiring vaccination for staff to help ensure the safety of our patients, staff, visitors and communities.”
Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.
