Lots Of People Say They’ll Quit Over Vaccine Mandates, But Research Shows Few Do

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A health care worker fills syringes with doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in August in Southfield, Mich.





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Here’s some data they cite:

«Houston Methodist Hospital, for example, required its 25,000 workers to get a vaccine by June 7. Before the mandate, about 15% of its employees were unvaccinated. By mid-June, that percentage had dropped to 3% and hit 2% by late July. A total of 153 workers were fired or resigned, while another 285 were granted medical or religious exemptions and 332 were allowed to defer it.

The situation seems to be playing out in New York, too, where fears of a mandate for health care workers have prompted officials to prepare for possible staffing shortages. But even there, the mandate appeared to force an uptick in vaccinations.



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The researchers say there are a few ways to minimize further the number of people who would quit over such a policy, including building trust with employees, making vaccination accessible and engaging trusted messengers such as doctors and family.

This story originally published in the Morning Edition live blog.