St. Joe’s pauses employee vaccine mandate

Employees of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center are off the hook for the time being about meeting a COVID-19 vaccine deadline Monday because of a federal court ruling temporarily halting a vaccine mandate for health care workers.

Samantha Skinner, spokeswoman for the Lewiston hospital, said Wednesday that because of the federal injunction, “our providers and employees are no longer required to be vaccinated or request a medical or religious accommodation by the deadlines previously set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”

Earlier, St. Joe’s employees were under orders to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by early January to comply with the federal mandate. Monday was the deadline for employees to receive either the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and Jan. 4 was the date to receive the second dose in a two-shot series.

Previously, the number of St. Joe’s employees who were vaccinated and documented their status with the hospital’s human resources department was similar to the state’s vaccination rate of about 58.7 percent for those 18 and older. After the mandate was announced, the hospital saw an uptick in the number of employees receiving their vaccines, but those who refused would have been suspended if the federal mandate had stayed in place.

Skinner said Wednesday “we remain committed to fulfilling all of our regulatory and compliance obligations and we will take the appropriate action depending on the final outcome of the legal proceedings.

“Importantly,” she added, “we are continuing our efforts to strongly encourage all of our team members to receive a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of how the courts may rule, as we trust the science and know it is our best defense against the virus.”

In a news release Tuesday, Idaho Gov. Brad Little criticized the Biden administration for attempting to force hospitals and other health care facilities to require their employees to get vaccinated.

“His illegal attempt would intensify a problem confronting our country,” Little said. “We already have a short supply of healthcare workers available to handle the pandemic.”

Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, along with other states, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state challenging the health care worker vaccine mandate. Two other lawsuits challenging mandates are pending, including one involving federal contractors and another that would affect private employers with 100 or more employees.

Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert on Wednesday removed a mask requirement for city facilities that had been issued Sept. 24.

Also Wednesday, the board of the Latah County Commissioners removed a mask requirement for county facilities originally issued Sept. 13.

According to a news release, Lambert encouraged people to choose to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

He also encouraged community members to wear face coverings indoors when they can’t maintain 6 feet of distance from those not in their household, wash their hands frequently and follow health guidelines from the Idaho Department of Health, Public Health – Idaho North Central District and the CDC.

A news release from the county recommended any member of the public who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 continue to wear a face covering and maintain 6 feet of distance while visiting Latah County facilities.

Health officials in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington announced 55 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, continuing the recent trend of smaller case totals. No deaths were reported.

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.