Mayo Clinic reports 99 percent compliance with vaccine program

With the deadline now passed, Mayo Clinic says nearly 99 percent of staff across its sites have come into compliance with its vaccine program.

Staff had until Monday to either receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, or be approved for a medical or religious exemption. Mayo says employees continued to get their shots into the final day of eligibility.

While the organization is still calculating final numbers, the Mayo estimate means approximately 1 percent of its 73,000-person workforce will be terminated from their jobs for not complying with the mandate.

Mayo says the number is comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced. It noted that the majority of medical and religious exemptions requested by employees were granted.

“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe,” said a Mayo spokesperson. “If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings.”

Mayo continues to urge all individuals get vaccinated (and boosted, if applicable) for Covid-19, particularly given the recent wave of infections attributed to the omicron variant. While breakthrough infections have become more common due to the variant, fully vaccinated individuals are less likely to experience serious illness than those who go unvaccinated.

“Based on science and data, it's clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives,” Mayo wrote. “That’s true for everyone in our communities — and it’s especially true for the many patients with serious or complex diseases who seek care at Mayo Clinic each day.”

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.