Cleveland Clinic puts employee vaccine mandate on pause

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The Cleveland Clinic is putting its vaccination policy on pause, which required all employees and those who provide services with the hospital system to either receive the COVID-19 vaccine or an approved exemption with accommodations.

The announcement came Thursday.

The decision came after a federal court recently issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccine federal mandate by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That rule is now on hold.

While the Cleveland Clinic is putting its policy on pause, the system will put in place additional safety requirements for employees who are unvaccinated, including periodic testing for those providing direct clinical care.

"As a health system, we continue to strongly encourage all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and we are proud that the majority of our employees are already vaccinated," the clinic said in a press release.

The vaccine mandate brought out protesters last month in front of Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Dover to express their displeasure with the decision.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Cleveland Clinic puts employee vaccine mandate on pause