By IDSE News Staff

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it will begin mandating COVID-19 vaccination for its health care employees. They have eight weeks to become fully vaccinated.

The VA is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, overseeing 1,293 health care facilities, including 171 VA medical centers and 1,112 outpatient clinics. The agency provides care for more than 9 million veterans.

Secretary R. Denis McDonough said the policy is for all Title 38 VA health care personnel, including physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, registered nurses, physician assistants, expanded-function dental auxiliaries and chiropractors, who work in Veterans Health Administration facilities, visit VHA facilities or provide direct care to those the VA serves.

“We’re mandating vaccines for Title 38 employees because it’s the best way to keep veterans safe, especially as the Delta variant spreads across the country,” Mr. McDonough said. “Whenever a veteran or VA employee sets foot in a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything in our power to protect them from COVID-19. With this mandate, we can once again make—and keep—that fundamental promise.”

The department’s decision is supported by numerous medical organizations that recently called for mandating COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, more than 20,000 VA employees have tested positive, and about 146 have died. In recent weeks, the VA has lost four employees to COVID-19—all of whom were unvaccinated. At least three of those employees died because of the increasingly prevalent Delta variant, the VA said.

There has also been an outbreak among unvaccinated employees and trainees at a VA Law Enforcement Training Center, the third such outbreak during the pandemic.
About 70% of the nearly 380,000 VA staff are vaccinated.

The Department of Defense is considering similar mandates for military personnel.