Methodist Health System will require its 10,000 employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1

Methodist Health System requires its 10,000 employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by October 1 – and offers a bonus as an added incentive.

The Dallas-based nonprofit is the second major health network in North Texas to require vaccinations after Baylor Scott & White announced on Wednesday that it would make the vaccine mandatory for its 40,000 employees. Methodist emailed its staff on Thursday.

Once the system reaches its goal before the deadline, the Methodist agrees to pay a $ 500 bonus to full-time workers and a $ 250 bonus to part-time workers.

Medical and religious exceptions to vaccination are allowed. Employees are encouraged to request exemptions by September 10th so they can be reviewed by October 1st.

The hospital did not provide information on how many of its staff are currently vaccinated, but said that “most” had their vaccinations.

In Methodist’s email to employees, the delta variant and the recent increase in COVID-19 infections were cited as the rationale for the mandate.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, as of June 19, the Delta variant is responsible for 82% of the COVID-19 cases studied in the United States. The surge in delta cases has been accompanied by an increase in the total number of COVID-19 cases. Johns Hopkins reported that the seven-day moving average of cases in the US doubled in just a few weeks.

Nationwide, 97% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

Methodist was the first North Texas hospital to receive COVID-19 vaccines and to offer the vaccinations to staff in its 12 hospitals and more than 50 family health centers and medical groups.

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