Youngkin Requests Exemption To Federal Vaccine Mandate For Health Care Workers

By Kate Masters, Virginia Mercury

January 31, 2022

Gov. Glenn Youngkin is requesting an exemption to a federal rule requiring many health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

In a Monday letter, co-signed with West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, Youngkin asked the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services for a “limited waiver” that would give Virginia hospitals more flexibility when it came to staff vaccine requirements.

“This relief could take multiple forms, including broader conscience exemptions, flexibility on enforcement, or simply a sixmonth delay of the rule,” the letter reads. Both governors cited the ongoing spread of the highly infectious omicron variant, which was forcing many hospitals to operate under “crisis standards of care.”

“The top concern we continue to hear from leaders of our health care systems is the pending vaccination requirement and the impact it will have on staffing,” they wrote, adding that “the impact in Southwest Virginia and throughout West Virginia will be particularly acute.”

Federal efforts to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations have been controversial since President Joe Biden first announced them in September. One emergency order required large employers to implement staff-wide vaccine-or-testing programs, and a separate rule required staff-wide vaccination — with no testing exemptions — in any health care setting that accepts Medicaid or Medicare funding.

Both Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares announced plans to challenge the mandates, which were heard by the Supreme Court two days before the new administration took office in January. The court blocked the first order from taking effect last month, but upheld the vaccination requirement for health care workers.

The letter is Youngkin’s latest effort to appeal federal vaccine mandates, which he’s openly opposed even while encouraging individual Virginians to get vaccinated against the virus. Most large hospital systems in Virginia — including Inova, Sentara, VCU and UVA Health — have already adopted staff-wide vaccination requirements and reported a minimal loss of staff. One notable exception has been Ballad Health, the primary hospital system in Southwest Virginia.

CEO Alan Levine has long been an outspoken opponent against staff vaccine mandates, saying they would exacerbate existing staffing shortages.

While Youngkin did not cite Ballad directly in the letter, he paid a visit to the system’s flagship hospital in Abingdon on Monday. Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson to the governor, did not immediately respond to questions on why the governor felt a waiver was necessary or whether any specific health systems had prompted the request.

Julian Walker, a spokesperson for the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, said the industry group has supported vaccine requirements for health care workers. But given the “variety” of the industry’s membership, he said it was “only natural” that hospitals have taken different approaches to vaccination requirements. Staffing shortages have been a particular concern, even for health systems that have adopted mandates.

“It is noteworthy that the letter from Governor Youngkin and Governor Justice specifically addresses staffing challenges experienced by many hospitals across the commonwealth which, in the midst of a record-shattering surge in COVID hospitalizations, have had to contend with the omicron variant sidelining many hospital team members,” Walker said in a statement.

“These staffing challenges are a significant issue for Virginia hospitals and we appreciate Governor Youngkin’s attention to them,” he added.

This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.