by a surveyor as being non-compliant and have an opportunity to return to compliance before additional actions occur . CMS says its goal is to bring healthcare providers into compliance , however , the agency adds that it will not hesitate to use its full enforcement authority .
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America ( SHEA ) says it supports the Biden administration ’ s interim final rule that applies across 21 types of provider settings . “ Vaccines are the most effective and scientifically supported way to protect patients , staff , and visitors from the COVID-19 virus , and widespread vaccination in other large workplaces will protect the larger community as well ,” says Mary Hayden , MD , president of the SHEA board of trustees . “ Making sure that large organizations are required to have vaccinated staff helps level the playing field so facilities can hire and retain healthcare workers . It addresses the critical shortage of staff across the healthcare continuum .”
In July , SHEA published a consensus statement supporting requirements of healthcare personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19 . The statement provides an overview of current COVID-19 vaccines ’ safety and efficacy , legal considerations , ways to engage stakeholders and improve vaccination rates , and advantages to having a fully vaccinated workforce .
“ SHEA supports efforts by the federal government to encourage a fully vaccinated workforce . Data clearly show that vaccination reduces the burden of infection in communities , and among healthcare personnel and patients ,” says David Weber , MD , a member of the SHEA board of trustees and lead author of the consensus statement on vaccination as a condition of employment in healthcare .
According to a recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , approved vaccines were approximately 90 percent effective in preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infection with the COVID-19 virus in real-world conditions , among frontline workers that include healthcare personnel .
However , healthcare workers are pushing back against vaccination due to medical and religious exemptions , concerns about long- and short-term effects of the vaccines that have been pushed through under emergency use authorizations ( EUAs ), as well as the right to refuse based on personal convictions protected under civil liberties guaranteed by the U . S . Constitution . Those who object to the mandate point to its disruptive impact on the healthcare personnel workforce , exacerbating shortages and jeopardizing patient safety , as well as its punitive impacts on businesses , as well as its potential unconstitutionality .
As of mid-November , at least 27 courts have filed challenges in a move to block the mandate , and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay on the order . OSHA recently suspended enforcement of its vaccine requirement until pending litigation is finished after the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its stay of the mandate .
In addition to the efforts by Senate Republicans , Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen is also leading 11 other states — Louisiana , Arizona , Alabama , Georgia , Idaho , Indiana , Mississippi , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Utah , and West Virginia — in a lawsuit ( Montana v . Becerra ) against Biden ’ s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers . The lawsuit names the U . S Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ), CMS , and the agencies ’ respective leaders , Xavier Becerra and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure , as defendants . Knudsen said in a statement , “ President Biden ’ s trio of COVID vaccine mandates is an unconstitutional power
• According to a recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report , approved vaccines were approximately
90 % effective in preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infection with the COVID-19 virus in realworld conditions , among frontline workers that include healthcare personnel .
grab and intrusion into Montanans ’ lives . Federal judges have already blocked one mandate from going into effect , and the mandate for healthcare workers should be no different . The federal mandates are not about health – they are about forced compliance . Healthcare workers should be allowed to make their own decisions about their health – not President Biden .”
The lawsuit alleges the CMS rule violates its statutory authority , the Social Security Act , the Spending Clause , the anti-commandeering doctrine , the Administrative Procedure Act , and the Tenth Amendment . The 12 states seek a preliminary injunction to prevent CMS from implementing its mandate , arguing that it would cause economic injuries and harm to each state ’ s sovereignty . Montana ’ s lawsuit reads in part : “ By forcing a significant number of healthcare workers to take the shot ( s ) or exit the Medicare and Medicaid workforce , CMS ’ s Vaccine Mandate harms access to ( and thus quality of ) patient care . His ‘ one- size-fits-all sledgehammer ’ expressly undermines the Social Security Act ’ s singular focus on providing access to care . The Vaccine Mandate causes grave danger to the vulnerable persons whom Medicare and Medicaid were designed to protect — the poor , children , sick , and the elderly — by forcing the termination of millions of essential ‘ healthcare heroes .’”
The Senate is set to vote the week of Dec . 6 , 2021on a resolution to nullify Biden ’ s vaccine mandate for private companies , as Republicans and at least one Democrat push back on the administration ’ s rule requiring vaccines or inconvenient testing rules for workers at large businesses . All 50 Senate Republicans , led by Sen . Mike Braun , R-Ind ., backed a challenge to the vaccine mandate last month under the Congressional Review Act ( CRA ). That law allows Congress to officially disapprove of an executive branch regulation via a resolution passed through each chamber .
2022 and Beyond
Halperin , et al . ( 2021 ) review the latest evidence concerning 10 key COVID-19 policy and strategic areas , specifically addressing : the expansion of equitable vaccine distribution ; the need to ease restrictions as hospitalization and mortality rates eventually fall ; the advantages of emphasizing educational and harm reduction approaches over coercive and punitive measures ; the need to encourage outdoor activities ; the imperative to reopen schools ; the far-reaching and long-term economic and psychosocial consequences of sustained lockdowns ; the excessive focus on surface disinfection and other ineffective measures ; the importance of reassessing testing policies and practices ; the need for increasing access to outpatient therapies and prophylactics ; and the necessity to better prepare for future pandemics .
As the researchers note , “ Given the high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 , its continuing widespread circulation in some regions , and the emergence of new viral variants , it is unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 will be eradicated . Therefore , we will need
www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com • december 2021
29