CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Clinic has placed 751 caregivers on an unpaid leave of absence Friday after failing to comply with the hospital’s vaccine mandate deadline, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed Friday.
Cleveland Clinic said employees and others who provide services inside its hospitals had to have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 27. A second dose must be received by Feb. 28, the clinic said.
Under the COVID-19 vaccination mandate announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicare, all employees who work in a healthcare setting are required to be fully vaccinated.
As of Friday, 99% of its employees have complied with the mandate and the Cleveland Clinic locations in the U.S. have met the CMS requirements, a spokesperson said.
The hospital said employees who did not receive a first dose were placed on leave Friday, and released the following statement:
“We value each of our caregivers and are proud that 99% of our caregivers have complied with the CMS mandate. As a health system, if we do not comply with the CMS vaccination requirements, this would have a direct and extraordinary impact on our ability to care for patients, including potentially limiting critical health services we can offer."
Tom Mihaljevic, CEO and president of the clinic, said leadership is closely monitoring staffing levels and that “patient care has not been impacted.”
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