The Department of Veterans Affairs will be expanding its existing vaccine mandate.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough will expand the mandate on Friday, which will require most Veterans Health Administration employees, volunteers, and contractors who work in VHA facilities or come into contact with VA patients and healthcare workers to get vaccinated.
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The VA said in its Thursday statement that the following employees would be required to get the vaccine: psychologists, pharmacists, social workers, nursing assistants, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, peer specialists, medical support assistants, engineers, housekeepers, and other clinical, administrative, and infrastructure support workers who come into contact with patients and healthcare workers.
“We’re now including most VHA employees and volunteers and contractors in the vaccine mandate because it remains the best way to keep Veterans safe, especially as the Delta variant spreads across the country,” McDonough said in a statement. “This pandemic is not over and VA must do everything in our power to protect Veterans from COVID-19. With this expanded mandate, we can once again make — and keep — that fundamental promise.”
The VA became the first federal agency to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for some employees on July 26. At the time, the agency revealed that the VA Law Enforcement Training Center had recently suffered its third outbreak among unvaccinated employees and trainees.
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The highly transmissible delta variant, which is now responsible for a majority of new COVID-19 cases, has resulted in rising case numbers across the United States, prompting new restrictions from some local officials nationwide.
