Marion County hospitals prepare for vaccine mandate, businesses seek certainty on ruling

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Winco Mfg. does not plan to require COVID-19 vaccinations but will comply with federal testing requirements.

With new guidance on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers and large businesses announced last week by the Biden administration, some Marion County employers are preparing to comply with federal guidelines, while others are awaiting more guidance.

Ocala hospitals have expressed their intent to comply with the mandate, which would require around 17 million health care workers in 76,000 hospitals and other health care facilities across the country to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

With another mandate for businesses of 100 or more employees temporarily halted by a federal appeals court over the weekend, however, some employers desire more answers before acting.

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Mandate will require vaccines for health employees by January

Under the mandate for health care providers, workers employed with organizations that accept Medicare and Medicaid must be fully vaccinated with either one dose of the Johnson & Johnson or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines by Jan. 4.

The policy applies to most hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, long-term care operators and other health care providers. In addition to the January deadline, employers must ensure staff have received at least one dose by Dec. 5 or they may not provide treatment or services.

Clinical and non-clinical staff, as well as students, volunteers and contracted employees are all required to follow the mandate, which will be enforced by inspections or surveys by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Offending facilities can be cited or fined and given opportunities to improve compliance.

Those who qualify for a medical or religious exemption can forgo the vaccination, however.

Ocala hospitals intend to comply with vaccination requirements

A statement from Ocala Health, which operates Ocala Regional Medical Center and West Marion Community Hospital, said the hospitals are planning to comply with federal COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

“We have plans in place based on processes, best practices and knowledge gained from our operations in states that have already mandated vaccination,” the statement read. “Since COVID-19 vaccines became available earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as our infectious disease experts, have been strongly encouraging vaccination as a critical step to protect individuals from the virus and many of our colleagues have already been fully vaccinated.”

Ocala Health also said it plans to work with colleagues to assist those who have not yet received the vaccine.

AdventHealth, which operates AdventHealth Ocala, is also preparing for the mandate.

“Our intent is to comply with the federal mandate, and we are closely monitoring legal challenges in the states we serve that may impact our compliance,” a statement to the Star-Banner said.

Like Ocala Health, AdventHealth has advocated for COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the pandemic.

“Based on scientific evidence and what we see in our hospitals every day, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at reducing both the risk of becoming infected and spreading the infection to others,” the statement said. “As part of our commitment to protecting the health and well-being of our team members, patients and communities, we strongly encourage all of our team members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 57,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Marion County. Nearly 208,000 of more than 372,000 residents have been vaccinated, including 64% of people ages 12 and older.

During the latest surge driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus, cases peaked at over 3,200 weekly in late August and have since declined to 151 cases last week.

Separate mandate in place for private businesses

In addition to the mandate for health care workers, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) announced a vaccine mandate for employees of businesses with 100 or more workers.

On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida would sue to block the rules, as have many other states. On Saturday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay to temporarily halt the requirement from going into effect.

If upheld, employees would also have to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or can forgo vaccinations for weekly COVID-19 testing, an option not available to those in the health field.

Employers must grant paid time off for employees to get their immunizations and if they have any ensuing side effects. Employees who are unvaccinated are required to wear masks while working starting Dec. 5.

Marion County businesses seek certainty on ruling

Bart Rowland, director of job creation for the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership (CEP), confirmed that there are 169 businesses that have 100 or more employees in Marion County, according to CareerSource.

The Star-Banner reached out to numerous large businesses that did not respond or were awaiting more information on the mandate, including Ocala-based medical equipment manufacturer Winco Mfg.

Director of Human Resources Tish Webber said Winco would not require all employees to be vaccinated but that the company would comply with the weekly testing for unvaccinated individuals if the mandate is upheld.

Depending on the court ruling, Webber says the company will look into providing onsite testing if possible "to help mitigate some of the logistics issues for employees and keep them at work."

“Even though there’s a date now, there’s a little bit more information, there’s still just as much unknown,” CEP President and CEO Kevin Sheilley said on Thursday. “How’s it going to hold up to court scrutiny? What’s Florida going to do? How are individuals going to react?”

Sheilley said it does seem like mandates elsewhere have raised the vaccination rate, but they may also reduce the workforce size.

“What’s that going to mean?” he asked. “I think there’s a whole lot of just figuring out what it’s going to be and look like. They’ve got a little bit more information, but still waiting. At the end of the day, what businesses really want is certainty.”

Among the uncertain, Sheilley emphasized, was whether businesses will start losing employees over the requirement or whether they may start planning for the mandate only to have it overturned in court and have to backtrack.

“We’ve been tracking it (the mandate) very closely for the last two months, and we’ll continue to watch it very closely,” he said.

Marion County Public Schools not affected by mandate

Florida is not among 26 states that have state-level workplace safety plans with OSHA. Public school districts in those states do fall under the employee vaccine mandate, as do private schools of 100 or more employees in any state.

“The School Board has not discussed anything regarding mandatory vaccinations for employees,” Marion County Public Schools Director of Public Relations Kevin Christian wrote in an email. “The School Board did vote recently to give $200 (net) bonuses to employees who are fully vaccinated by Dec. 1, 2021.”

With cases and positivity rate decreasing, the School Board also recently lifted its mask mandate that went into effect in August across the district, which is the largest employer in Marion County with over 7,000 staff.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County hospitals plan to comply with federal vaccine mandate