Health

HE A LTH • Fall 2021 17 H people's concerns. He said while vaccination rates slowed over the months, with COVID cases on the rise, more people are now getting the shots. Dickson said one way to encourage more people to get the vaccines is simply to make them very easy to get. UMass Memorial now offers COVID vaccinations at all its hospitals and clinics, but he said what's been even more successful is sending mobile units to the mall. The social atmosphere in public places means people walking by may encourage the friends they're with to get the shot. "Friends are allowed to put peer pressure on," he said. Employer mandates With its own employees, the UMass system has taken the more hard-nosed approach of mandating vaccination. "It really came down to an ethical obligation to do everything we can to keep our patients and our people safe," Dickson said. At the same time, he acknowledged there are downsides to the policy, especially during a time of staffing shortages. "We do this, and people may leave," he said. "We may make our staffing shortage worse, but in the end we will have done everything we can to keep our patients and our people safe." The organization offers exemptions for people F L A S H P O L L We won't make employees get the vaccine Worcester County, along with most counties in Massachusetts, is experiencing a substantial com- munity transmission of coronavirus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. In order to combat a further spread of the disease, organiza- tions like UMass Memorial Health, the largest employer in Central Massachusetts, are requiring their employees to receive the COVID vaccine, as is the federal government, along with several Massachusetts state agencies. When polled online, nearly three out of four readers of the Worcester Business Journal said they won't force employees to get the vaccine. Is your company requiring or planning to require employees to get the COVID vaccine? Acton ......................................... 74% Ashburnham .............................. 56% Ashby ........................................ 51% Ashland ..................................... 69% Athol (includes Phillipston) ................. 51% Auburn ....................................... 65% Ayer ........................................... 68% Barre .......................................... 54% Bellingham ................................. 56% Berlin ......................................... 67% Blackstone ................................ 51% Bolton ........................................ 77% Boxborough............................... 77% Boylston .................................... 75% Brookfield .................................. 53% Carlisle ....................................... 80% Charlton ..................................... 56% Clinton ....................................... 63% Douglas ..................................... 52% Dudley ....................................... 47% East Brookfield .......................... 59% Fitchburg ................................... 48% Framingham .............................. 67% Franklin ...................................... 65% Gardner ..................................... 58% Grafton ...................................... 63% Groton ....................................... 67% Hardwick ................................... 36% Harvard ...................................... 57% Holden ....................................... 70% Holliston .................................... 78% Hopedale ................................... 70% Hopkinton .................................. 80% Hubbardston ............................. 54% Hudson ...................................... 65% Lancaster ................................... 50% Leicester .................................... 57% Leominster ................................ 61% Littleton ..................................... 72% Lunenburg ................................. 67% Malden....................................... 64% Marlborough .............................. 64% Maynard .................................... 72% Medway ..................................... 69% Mendon ..................................... 68% Milford ....................................... 67% Millbury ...................................... 62% Millis .......................................... 75% Millville ....................................... 41% Natick ........................................ 74% New Braintree ...................................* Northborough ............................ 82% North Brookfield ........................ 55% Northbridge ............................... 52% Oakham ..................................... 50% Oxford ....................................... 55% Paxton ....................................... 59% Petersham ........................................* Princeton ................................... 74% Royalston .........................................* Rutland ...................................... 62% Sherborn ................................... 84% Shirley ........................................ 49% Shrewsbury ............................... 67% Southborough ........................... 80% Southbridge ............................... 53% Spencer ..................................... 57% Sterling ...................................... 66% Stow .......................................... 71% Sturbridge ................................. 57% Sudbury ..................................... 77% Sutton ........................................ 65% Templeton .................................. 47% Tewksbury ................................. 64% Townsend .................................. 57% Upton......................................... 58% Uxbridge .................................... 54% Warren ....................................... 39% Wayland ..................................... 78% Webster ..................................... 52% West Boylston ........................... 62% West Brookfield ......................... 66% Westborough ............................. 82% Westminster .............................. 65% Winchendon .............................. 45% Worcester .................................. 54% COVID vaccination rates among eligible people, by community As of Aug. 10 Fully vaccinated individuals per capita (*Data not available for three smaller communities) Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. Other healthcare employers are requiring their employees be vaccinated, along with colleges and universities for students and sometimes staff. But most employers haven't chosen to make the shot mandatory for their workers. Alex Guardiola, vice president of government affairs and public policy at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he hasn't heard from any companies mandating the vaccine. But many have participated in vaccination events, partnering with UMass Memorial or Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester to offer employees the vaccine at their workplace. Guardiola said he's been talking with local business owners who are watching to see if the state or local governments will issue mandates for vaccination or masking. "Obviously we were hoping that we wouldn't be coming back to this after the vaccines were rolled out," he said, but, "they're happy to comply to be able to keep their doors open." Guardiola said the most important thing for businesses is they're not forced to shut down again due to a surge in cases in the region. "During the pandemic I was on the phone with many companies that were just distraught because they poured every single penny they had in their life into the business," he said. "Unfortunately, some of them couldn't return back to opening, and they couldn't come through the other side. I think having to shut down businesses again would be catastrophic for our region." Fighting a rising tide Unfortunately, Dickson said, the lack of full vaccination across the country has already set the conditions for rising cases. "We have given the virus the time it needs to pass from individual to individual and mutate such that it's becoming more infectious and less susceptible to the vaccine," he said. "Had we fully embraced the vaccine, and had everyone in the country done a better job of masking and social distancing, we would have beaten the virus back." Now, though, UMass Memorial employees are facing the unsettling possibility they may have to set up a field hospital for the third time since the COVID pandemic began. "They're like, 'Really? I'm exhausted. How many times do we have to do this?'" Dickson said. "The healthcare workforce is exhausted and kind of fed up. But as we always do, we always rally for our patients and find a way." Alex Guardiola, VP of government affairs at Worcester chamber Yes, we already do. 16% Yes, we plan to require the vaccine soon. 9% No, that remains a personal medical decision. 54% No, but non- vaccinated employees are subject to regular testing and/or other restrictions. 20%

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