When Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine got full approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration, at least 10 hospitals in Vermont told staff members they had to get the jab by the beginning of October or face weekly testing.
According to hospital officials across the state, the vast majority of staff members have since complied — although what that means can vary from hospital to hospital.
VTDigger contacted hospitals with known vaccination requirements to find out how their staffs had reacted. Most required staff to provide documentation by Sept. 30 or Oct. 1. Among hospitals that responded, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital had the highest reported vaccination rate, with more than 99% of staff fully vaccinated, according to spokesperson Gina Pattison.
At the state’s largest hospital network, the University of Vermont Health Network, vaccination rates varied by facility. UVM Medical Center has a staff vaccination rate of 93%, spokesperson Annie Mackin said. The remaining 7% is roughly split evenly among people who are unvaccinated, people who are partially vaccinated and people who have not yet submitted documentation.
She said anyone who is not fully vaccinated must be tested weekly. The network received 12 requests for religious exemptions and is “reviewing them carefully,” Mackin said. It’s unclear if a person who receives a religious exemption will still be required to get tested.
At UVM-affiliated Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, 86% of employees have submitted proof of vaccination, leaving 151 staff members unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, Mackin said. Porter Medical Center in Middlebury has a staff vaccination rate of 90%.
Among Vermont’s independent hospitals, Gifford Medical Center in Randolph reported a staff vaccination rate of 97%, according to spokesperson Scott Fleishman.
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital reported a vaccination rate of “almost 90%,” but CEO Shawn Tester cautioned that the data was running about a week behind. The hospital plans to test unvaccinated or partially vaccinated staff starting next week.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health spokesperson Audra Burns said via email that the network, which operates 10 facilities in Vermont and New Hampshire, had a vaccination requirement deadline of Sept. 30. But she did not respond to questions about the vaccination rate among staff, writing only that their organizations “are now doing a final review of those who have not provided documentation.”
“On or about Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, employees will receive corrective action and notice that their employment will end for failure to comply with D-HH’s immunization and exemption requirements policy and we will have a further statement at that time,” Burns said via email.
State employees
The Vermont state government also implemented a vaccine requirement, which started in August with health care and correctional facilities, and extended to all employees a few weeks later.
The overall vaccination rate among state employees is about 85%, according to Beth Fastiggi, commissioner of the Department of Human Resources. Employees must either attest to being fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, which has already begun at some facilities.
The vaccination rate among facilities that work with sensitive populations varies. At Vermont’s two mental health facilities, the combined staff vaccination rate was 93%, Fastiggi said via email. But the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington has a staff vaccination rate of only 79%.
The Department of Corrections has a staff vaccination rate of 76%, she said, but it’s unclear what the rate is among staff who work directly in prisons.
National news outlets have reported on concerns about a mass exodus of nursing staff in protest over vaccine mandates. But so far, Vermont hospitals have not reported that problem.
Mackin, at UVM Health Network, said 241 employees left UVMMC in August and September, but 235 started in the same time period. It’s unclear how many of those employees were nursing staff.
Fastiggi said that, in July and August, about 190 employees left state service, calling them “pretty typical numbers.” More employees left in September, but most of them were seasonal employees, she said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the percentage of unvaccinated staff at UVM Medical Center.
