TYLER, Texas — On Wednesday, Baylor Scott & White Health announced they are now requiring all of their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Baylor Scott & White Health spokesperson Tiya Searcy said all employees, providers, volunteers, vendors and staff must have received the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Oct. 1, unless granted an exemption.
"With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts due to the highly contagious Delta variant and the start of the flu season fast approaching, we believe now is the right time to take the next step in achieving a fully vaccinated workforce," the hospital said in a press release.
But Tyler-based Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine & Joint Hospital, though, has told CBS19 the vaccine mandate deadline does not apply to them because they are a joint venture.
"We are collaborating with our joint venture partners, prioritizing patient and employee safety and adjusting our policies at our joint venture partners as needed," Baylor Scott & White Health officials said in a press release.
This marks the second major hospital in Texas this week to mandate vaccines for its workers. Ascension established a similar requirement on Tuesday but gave everyone until Nov. 12 to get the vaccine.
Earlier this year, 150 employees at a Houston Methodist Hospital who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine were fired or resigned after being mandated to.
The hospital made national headlines after it announced that employees who weren't vaccinated by June 7 would be suspended without pay for two weeks, and if they'd still not gotten vaccinated, they would be fired.
