Warrington Nursing Home To Mandate COVID Vaccine For Employees
WARRINGTON, PA — Employees at a Bucks County nursing home are being asked to get the COVID-19 vaccine or else risk losing their job.
Neshaminy Manor, a 360-bed care facility in Warrington and Bucks County's largest nursing home, is asking its workers to get vaccinated, The Intelligencer reported Thursday.
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in December to indicate that an employer can require its workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Bucks County Spokesperson Larry King said the goal is to have all employees at the nursing home be vaccinated by the end of March, noting that the long term care facility has been particularly hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We must 'do no harm,' and the most effective way to prevent more cases of COVID in our facility is to have our employees vaccinated," King said in statement to Patch. "The elderly often have the lowest overall antibody responses to vaccines in general, and there is no guarantee it will work in all cases. If COVID is now preventable we must do all we can to prevent it, and that includes inoculating staff."
While the county contracts with Genesis HealthCare to provide manage the center, the facility is owned by the county and most of the staff are county employees, King said.
Eighty-five residents have died of COVID-19 at the nursing home since March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health
Walgreens staff was at Neshaminy Manor earlier this month to complete the first round of doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Thus far, 232 of 492 staff members have received partial vaccinations, along with 289 of 304 residents, King said, and pharmacy employees will return to the facility for the second round of shots on Feb. 1 and again on Feb. 26 for those who get initial shots in the first week of February.
"Any staff that has not been vaccinated by the end of March could be laid off," King said. "Those claiming medical or religious exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis."
Most privately run nursing homes in the county do not appear to be requiring their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, The Intelligencer also reported.
More COVID-19 vaccine news:
Gov. Wolf Signs Waiver Allowing Pharmacies To Give COVID Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccine In Pennsylvania: Everything You Need To Know
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This article originally appeared on the Doylestown Patch
