Most employees opt in to St. Bernards’ COVID vaccine mandate

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Months after announcing it would require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, St. Bernards Healthcare said nearly all of its staff has complied.

According to Tuesday’s news release, 99 percent of the provider’s 4,167 healthcare workers have been vaccinated. Just 43 people elected not to receive the vaccine.

St. Bernards began offering free vaccinations to all of its employees starting in December 2020. In early August, it announced the shots would be required of all its staff.

“We made this difficult but necessary decision to prevent hospitalizations and deaths,” the news release stated. “About 700 Arkansans lost their battle with this virus in October 2021 alone, and unvaccinated persons comprised 93 percent of COVID deaths at St. Bernards Medical Center during this same time.”

In addition to providing free vaccines to all employees, the release noted that St. Bernards also expanded vaccine access and offered incentives to all fully-vaccinated team members.