UMass Memorial to terminate unvaccinated, unexempted caregivers on Dec. 1

Photo | Edd Cote UMass Memorial Health Care is one of the region's largest employers.

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By Sloane M. Perron

In an internal memo compiled by Bart Metzger, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, the UMass Memorial Health workforce was notified that caregivers who did not receive their COVID-19 vaccines would be terminated on Dec. 1.

“Unvaccinated caregivers who have not received an approved medical or religious exemption and have not gotten either the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or a first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine by December 1, will lose their jobs and be ineligible to work at UMass Memorial Health until they are vaccinated,” said the memo.

This memo follows a previous vaccine mandate which required all UMass personnel to obtain their first dose of the vaccine by Nov. 1. Those who have not been vaccinated yet must wear N-95 masks and submit to regular testing.

Those who do not receive their vaccine by Nov. 1 will receive an additional two weeks to follow the mandate before action is taken. After Nov. 15, employees who have not received their vaccine and do not have a religious or medical exemption, will be placed on a two-week suspended leave without pay, according to the memo.

According to UMass Memorial Health, 87.6% of its workforce has been vaccinated thus far.

“We did not make this decision lightly. We’ve struggled with it for weeks because we want to give all our unvaccinated caregivers every opportunity to get vaccinated and do so with compassion and respect and not have anyone lose their jobs, while also weighing the responsibility of providing a safe environment for our patients,” Metzger wrote in the memo.