A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Atlantic County vaccination megasite in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S., on Thursday, April 8, 2021. New Jersey, where hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 have been rising, has some of the highest rates of the more-contagious B.1.1.7 strain, adding to the pressure on officials. It has vaccinated about 43% of its residents, above the U.S. average but still leaving millions to go.
One of New Jersey's largest health care systems says it recently fired six supervisor-level employees who refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
RWJBarnabas Health had mandated in May that its supervisory workers to get vaccinated by June 30.
The company says 2,979 staff members, or 99.7 percent, at the supervisor level and above, had been fully vaccinated by July 14 or received medical and religious exemptions or a deferral. It now plans to expand that requirement to all of its staff and doctors.
RWJBarnabas Health employs more than 35,000 people, with 9,000 affiliated doctors. It was the first health system in New Jersey to require vaccinations as a condition of employment for some, and other firms have since followed.
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