Two of Alaska’s largest employers will require all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 15.
Southcentral Foundation and its sister organization, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, emailed the announcement to staff Thursday afternoon. Together, they employ more than 5,000 people.
The message to Southcentral Foundation employees said that as a healthcare organization, a vaccine requirement will help workers deliver “the highest level of care and safety” to patients.
All employees will be required to be vaccinated, except for rare cases when an employee has a medical excuse. Several other large Alaska Native organizations also have vaccine requirements, including the Norton Sound Health Corporation and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium.
Vaccine requirements are considered a legal gray area. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s up to states to set laws.
Lawyers say it will likely be decided in the courts. In June, a federal court in Texas sided with a hospital requiring employees to be vaccinated. That prompted a growing number of hospitals nationwide to start requiring COVID-19 vaccines.
In April, three Alaska legislators introduced a bill to ban employee vaccination requirements, but it wasn’t considered during the legislative session.
A spokesperson for Providence Hospital, Alaska’s largest hospital, said the group was considering a vaccine requirement but hadn’t made any decision yet.
