St. Dominic Hospital to require all workers to be vaccinated

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Saint Dominic Memorial Hospital is now requiring everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new rule includes all team members, employed providers, residents, students in clinical rotations, contract staff, and volunteers.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, the hospital’s parent company said, “We have listened to our team members and physicians as well as tracked the rapid progress of this fourth surge to reach this decision. Throughout the pandemic, our teams have risen to the calling to care for those who need them. We continue that now, but already we are straining to meet the demand.”

The healthcare organization said it’s predicted that Mississippi will have several weeks and possibly months before we reach the peak of this surge.

The statement went on to say, “We must act now to protect each other from spreading the delta variant and protect vulnerable patients from exposure. Vaccines are the best means of accomplishing this and more important than ever as the lasting step to end this pandemic. We should not wait any longer.”