New COVID-19 vaccination policy: What you need to know

Author: Kevin Olson, M.D., chief executive, Clinical Programs, Providence Oregon
Steven Freer, M.D., FACP, chief medical officer, Oregon Region; Isidor Brill Chair, Department of Medicine, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center

Providence Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccination policy says that providers (employed and affiliated) and caregivers must either show proof of vaccination, or sign a declination, by Thursday, Sept. 30. A declination is a statement saying you are not intending to get the vaccine, either now or in the future. This policy applies to all workforce members, which includes employed caregivers, volunteers, interns, medical staff, students, independent contractors, vendors and all other individuals working in our facilities.

Those who decline will be required to comply with any additional masking and other infection prevention requirements in accordance with facility policy, CDC or public health recommendations for nonvaccinated individuals.

This policy helps us further prevent and control transmission among caregivers, our patients and within our communities. It also helps us determine the most appropriate ways to prevent the spread of COVID, consistent with public health authorities’ guidance.

Currently, 74% of Providence Oregon caregivers have participated by being vaccinated or providing information on their vaccinations received elsewhere – thank you! An additional 5% have completed a declination (saying they will not be vaccinated).

ACTION NEEDED BY SEPT. 30: How to comply

• If you received your vaccination series or single dose through Providence drive-thru clinics or in our facilities through Caregiver Health Services, there is no action required.
• If you received your vaccination series or single dose elsewhere (e.g., community pharmacy, community event, CVS/Walgreens onsite clinics, mass vaccination site such as Oregon Convention Center or other community vaccine clinics):
  • Please email a photo of your documentation (front and back) with your legal name, employee identification number, and date of birth to your local caregiver health services team by Sept. 30, 2021.
  • If you are not employed, e.g., an affiliated provider, volunteer, student, contractor or vendor, please follow this same process and provide your preferred name and email address.
  • If you have trouble getting a photo of your documentation or attaching it to an email, you can bring documentation to your nearest caregiver health services office by Sept. 30. Please email your local caregiver health services team to arrange a day and time.
  • If you decline and say no to the vaccination, you must sign a declination in our COVID-19 vaccination status tool by Sept. 30.
  • If you believe you have already submitted your vaccine records or declined the vaccine, you can verify that your vaccination status has been recorded by logging in to our COVID-19 vaccination status tool. If you have questions, please contact your local caregiver health services team.

  Those who do not participate by way of vaccination or written declination by Sept. 30 will be subject to standard practices relating to noncompliance with policy, such as being removed from the schedule until compliance is achieved.

  We know that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and associated severe illness, hospitalization and death. Simply stated, this is now a pandemic among the unvaccinated. In fact, 99% of patients hospitalized or dying of COVID-19 in the U.S. now are unvaccinated. But those declining vaccination also are a potential source of mutation and variation in the virus itself, creating greater risks of infection throughout our communities, even among those who have been vaccinated.

  As health care providers, we want to help protect our patients and each other, and the vaccine is our path forward. This policy supports our belief that everyone who can get the COVID-19 vaccine should get vaccinated.