A major home care association on Monday spoke out in favor of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees and pushed the call even further — requesting required vaccinations among healthcare staff in all settings.
“To protect all Americans and give everyone the confidence to seek the healthcare they need, all health workers and volunteers in all settings — including home health, home hospice and home palliative care workers — should be required to be vaccinated against and regularly tested for COVID-19, with exemptions for medical and religious reasons,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, in a statement.
He praised last week’s move by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to require staff working in Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but argued it “does not go far enough.”
Other home care organizations, such as the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and Home Care Association of America, so far have been reluctant to call for vaccine mandates, instead urging home care agencies to try to boost rates by other means.
The home care sector has lagged behind others in long-term care on this issue. LeadingAge, which represents home care providers, as well as nursing homes and affordable housing, and AMDA–The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine have issued statements for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for long-term care workers. Meanwhile, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living and the American College of Health Care Administrators have said that they “strongly” encourage it.
The NHPCO statement comes the same day as the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Such a move provides “greater certainty around vaccines for all Americans,” Banach said.
He added, “Similarly, announcing a national requirement for healthcare workers to be vaccinated would provide greater certainty for the healthcare sector. The requirement should include a clear timeline and implementation should be supported with financial resources, including but not limited to additional support under the Provider Relief Fund and sufficient home-based rapid testing supplies.”
Banach acknowledged the staffing pressures home care agencies face. “We realize that a national vaccine mandate may cause further frustration in the short term, and we are concerned about that,” Banach said. “However, taking the long view, it’s clear that consistent requirements will strengthen public trust in the healthcare system and help stabilize staffing. A clear, nationwide approach, appropriately resourced, would provide the structure and certainty healthcare providers need in order to continue making progress on getting staff vaccinated.”
