In what might be a national first, the University Hospital in Newark will mandate a COVID-19 booster for employees who previously received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“Data and analysis indicate that a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may no longer confer a level of effectiveness that prevents COVID-19 infection in enough of our employees if they are exposed, which has implications on our ability to keep vulnerable patients and families safe,” said Shereef Elnahal, President and CEO of University Hospital in a press release on Friday. “Our rationale for mandating primary vaccinations was to keep all of our employees, vulnerable patients, families, and communities safe by limiting the spread of COVID-19. In light of the CDC and FDA decision-making on Johnson & Johnson vaccine boosters last week, we believe boosters are necessary to achieve this goal for those who received this single-dose vaccine.”
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Employees face a deadline of December 24th.
The release further explains that “[h]ospital leadership will continue to monitor data to determine if any additional mandates will be required for employees who received the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.”
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