As the Delta variant spreads and as COVID-19 case counts climb throughout Alaska, more health care providers in the state are requiring that their workers get vaccinated.
Full vaccination also will be required of students living in on-campus housing at the University of Alaska Southeast and at the university campus in Anchorage.
The PeaceHealth hospital system, which operates the Ketchikan Medical Center, announced Aug. 3 that all caregivers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Aug. 31, unless they provide proof of a medical exemption.
"The policy will apply to all caregivers, including providers, students, contractors, vendors and volunteers," said the statement by the nonprofit corporation.
Unvaccinated individuals "will be subject to regular COVID-19 testing, as well as additional masking, potential reassignment to non-patient care settings and other safety protocols," said the statement from PeaceHealth, which also operates hospitals in Washington and Oregon and employs about 16,000 caregivers.
"Though nearly 80% of PeaceHealth caregivers have already been vaccinated, the rise in hospitalizations in our communities is a stark reminder that we are facing a public health emergency and we must do more," PeaceHealth Chief Physician Executive Doug Koekkoek said in the statement.
Providence Alaska, which operates the largest hospital in Anchorage and several clinics elsewhere in the state, announced Aug. 6 that it will require staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or agree to additional safety measures.
Providence staff will have until Sept. 30 to comply with the new policy. Medical and religious exemptions will be made for staff.
"Those who do not get vaccinated must ... follow additional protocols," the Providence statement said. That could include additional testing, education and infection-prevention protocols.
Providence Alaska employs nearly 5,000 people. The vaccination rate as of last week among staff was just over 68% statewide, an official reported.
The rate of at least one vaccine dose among eligible Alaskans was 58.5% as of Monday, a slight gain from last week, according to the state website.
"Earlier this summer, it might have felt as though we were out of the woods regarding the pandemic," Dr. Michael Bernstein, chief medical officer for Providence Alaska, told Anchorage TV station KTUU. "However, cases have started to increase again and the new Delta variant of COVID-19 has shown to be more infectious and transmissible."
The vaccination policies of PeaceHealth and Providence follow by a month announcements by the leading tribal health organizations in Alaska that their staff will be required to get vaccinated.
The two largest, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation, are requiring staff get vaccinated by Oct. 15 or risk losing their jobs. The two Anchorage-based providers together employ more than 5,000 people.
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium reported last week that at least 80% of its staff already were vaccinated.
Since last month, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which operates the Wrangell Medical Center, has required all employees, volunteers and contractors to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs or access to the facilities.
Medical exceptions will be allowed, as well as for "persons whose sincere religious observances and practices related to life, purpose or death oppose vaccines," according to the policy. "Documentation from a religious leader will be required."
Employees who choose not to be vaccinated and have not received an approved exemption "will be considered as 'voluntarily separated' from employment with SEARHC," the policy said.
"Over 98% of SEARHC employees are compliant with the vaccination policy," Maegan Bosak, senior director of lands and property management, based in Sitka, said in a July 2 email.
SEARHC has more than 1,200 employees in 19 Southeast communities, with about 120 in Wrangell.
In addition to health care providers nationwide - which have led the move to requiring vaccinations for their employees - non-medical businesses are increasingly adopting similar policies.
United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Walgreens, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Walmart, CNN and Tyson Foods have announced vaccination requirements for all or some employees.
Starting with the fall semester, students who live on campus at the University of Alaska Anchorage are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Students will have 45 days to get fully vaccinated if they want to remain in housing, or they can request waivers.
The University of Alaska Southeast expects 400 students in its residence halls and apartments in Juneau this fall, and will give students 10 days after moving in to meet the vaccination requirement.
Masks are required on all University of Alaska campuses for the fall semester, regardless of vaccination status, including in classrooms at all times, according to the school's policy.
The Alaska court system last week announced it is now requiring every visitor to wear a face mask, regardless of vaccination status.
Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Winfree issued the order last week, stating that masks are necessary because of increased COVID-19 case counts and the prevalence of the more contagious Delta variant throughout the state.
He also referred to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which shows that fully vaccinated people can spread the Delta variant just as fast as non-vaccinated people.
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