University of Utah Health will require COVID-19 vaccinations for hospital, clinic staff – KSL.com

The University of Utah Hospital is seen in this undated file photo. University of Utah Health announced on Monday that all hospital and clinical staff who have contact with patients will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY University of Utah Health will require COVID-19 vaccinations for hospital and clinic staff members who have contact with patients, officials announced Monday.

Staff members at U. health hospitals and clinics, as well as credentialed and privileged providers and health academics staff members who have patient-sensitive job positions will need to be vaccinated, according to a statement from University of Utah Health.

"We are proud of the already high COVID-19 vaccination rates among our faculty and staff," Dr. Thomas Miller, chief medical officer at University of Utah Health, said in the statement. "We want to ensure we are protecting our patients and employees and believe getting vaccinated against COVID-19 with the fully approved Pfizer vaccine, Comirnaty, or other vaccines approved under FDA emergency use authorization, will be the best way to keep each other safe and help us bring an end to this pandemic."

The University of Utah Health Medical Board and our executive leadership team met today and approved a resolution to require COVID-19 vaccinations for Hospitals and Clinics staff, credentialed and privileged providers and health Academics staff in patient sensitive job codes. pic.twitter.com/L7Q96J1A4g

The University of Utah Health Medical Board and executive leadership team met Monday to authorize the requirement. The policy will be implemented starting in late September, the university said.

Workers who have contact with patients, including in diagnostic or therapeutic settings, are considered patient-sensitive positions, according to the U. Positions in which a person has contact with research patients or participants are also considered patient-sensitive, as are positions where a person has access to a patient care area.

Medical and religious exemptions for vaccines will be reviewed by U. health officials. If approved, those exempted will be provided with reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, officials said.

The University of Utah announced last week that students at the institution would also be required to get vaccinated. Some other universities in the state have said they will require vaccines by the spring semester in January, as Utah Valley University also announced Monday.

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University of Utah Health will require COVID-19 vaccinations for hospital, clinic staff - KSL.com