Mount Sinai Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination for All Faculty and Staff

(New York, NY – August 12, 2021) –  Mount Sinai Health System today announced that all faculty and staff will be required to get the first shot of the vaccine by September 13. Leaders at the largest health system in New York City made the decision amid increases in cases caused by the rapid spread of the Delta variant and as an added measure to protect faculty and staff who have worked tirelessly caring for patients during this pandemic.

Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of Mount Sinai Health System, said in an internal message to all staff:

“Over the past weeks and months, we have worked hard to encourage every member of our Mount Sinai family to get vaccinated against COVID-19, to protect you, your patients, your coworkers, your families, and your communities. We are grateful for those of you who got the vaccine. 

Given the increased incidence and the rapid spread of the Delta variant, we will be making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all faculty and staff, with limited exceptions for religious and medical reasons, and excluding employees who work fully remotely and have a current Remote Work Agreement in place. This will apply to employees at all Mount Sinai locations, including hospital, ambulatory, academic, corporate, and other sites. 

All employees covered by this mandate will need to get their first shot by Monday, September 13. Those who do not get the shot and do not receive a medical or religious exemption will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. We will provide more details on the timeline and process shortly.

Mount Sinai Health System has always firmly believed that we are different than other large New York metropolitan region employers. As a hospital, a school, and a health care provider, we have responsibilities not only to each other, but to the communities we serve. And the right thing to do for our communities—and our Mount Sinai family—is to make sure we are all vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccines are simply the best protection we have against this virus, and our patients deserve the best.

Please note that we will continue to implement the vaccine-or-testing protocol that we first announced in June. Starting in September, faculty and staff who receive a medical or religious exemption from the vaccine mandate must undergo this weekly testing.

Again, to the large majority of you who are already vaccinated—whether you were first in line in December or just got your first shot last week—thank you. To those of you who have not been vaccinated, we want you to understand why we are announcing this so early: to respectfully allow you more time to learn, look at the data, and become comfortable with getting vaccinated. Also, we now anticipate the Food and Drug Administration will grant full approval to at least one of the COVID-19 vaccines very soon. There is a lot of information on our employee and community vaccine websites. To make a vaccine appointment at Mount Sinai, please click here, or check the New York State, New York City, New Jersey, or Connecticut websites for options.

We are committed to ending this pandemic and keeping our Mount Sinai family and the communities we serve safe. We look forward to the day when this pandemic is really behind us. And we believe that, together in service, our actions will help to make that possible.”

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality care—from prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty and our physicians in the top 1% of all physicians nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.