Board of Health approves vaccine requirement for staff at health care facilities and hospitals

 

To: All licensed health care facilities   From: CDPHE   The State Board of Health has approved emergency rules requiring vaccination for staff in licensed health care settings. The Board met Monday, August 30 to consider a request from Governor Polis to implement rules requiring licensed health care facilities to require their personnel -- including employees, direct contractors, and support staff -- who interact with individuals seeking medical care to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.   According to the emergency rule, each facility shall develop and implement a policy and procedure to ensure 100% of employees, direct contractors, and support staff have obtained full COVID-19 vaccination status in accordance with the schedule below:   All employees, direct contractors, and support staff must have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination no later than September 30, 2021. All employees, direct contractors, and support staff must have received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination (if applicable) no later than October 31, 2021. All employees, direct contractors, and support staff must obtain a subsequent, or booster, dose of the COVID-19 vaccination should one be recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), in accordance with the recommended timelines. An employee, direct contractor, and support staff member who was diagnosed with COVID-19, or who received monoclonal antibody treatment or convalescent plasma treatment, shall obtain their vaccination in a timeframe that is in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ACIP, and the individual’s licensed independent practitioner. On or after October 31, 2021, each facility shall ensure all newly hired employees, direct contractors, or support staff members have obtained full COVID-19 vaccination status.  Beginning October 1, 2021, each facility shall report its COVID-19 vaccination rate to the department on the first and 15th day of the month.   The Board of Health will convene again in October to consider making the rule permanent in a regular session. The Department will engage in a stakeholder engagement process to obtain feedback before that hearing. Details of this process will be sent to all interested parties at a later date. Prior to Sept. 20, 2021, suggestions for specific changes to the regulatory language can be submitted to cdphe.hfregs@state.co.us.    The department is working quickly to provide additional information about the reporting mechanism, waiver process, and religious and medical exemptions. Further communication will be delivered directly to facilities through the CoHFI messaging system with specific instructions about these elements of the rule.   Links included in this message:   Request from Governor Polis 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 2 - Emergency Rulemaking Adopted Rules