The West Virginia University Health System, the state’s largest private employer, announced Monday that it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Oct. 31 as COVID-19 cases continue to grow exponentially statewide.
The mandate applies to workers at all of the WVU Health System’s hospitals and clinics in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and staff working remotely at home or onsite. The health system includes 20 hospitals and five health institutes and has more than 1,000 medical staff and 15,000 employees.
The move came after the West Virginia Hospital Association announced its support for hospital and health system employee vaccination requirements. And earlier Monday, the U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
