Board of Health to consider vaccine requirement for staff at health care facilities and hospitals

The State Board of Health will convene today at 4 p.m. for a special session to consider rules requiring vaccination for staff in health care settings with high-risk patients. The Board will consider rules requiring licensed health care facilities to mandate their personnel-- including employees, direct contractors, and support staff-- who interact with individuals seeking medical care to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Board’s ability to mandate vaccines is limited to only those health care facilities that are listed in Colorado Revised Statute 25-1.5-103(1)(a)(1). The department does not have authority over individual health care practitioners or staff, nor does it oversee other settings where patients seek medical care including primary care offices and urgent care locations.

On August 17, 2021, Governor Polis sent a letter to the State Board of Health requesting that the Board immediately consider rulemaking mandating the COVID-19 vaccination for all individuals “involved in health care and support staff who regularly come into contact and share spaces with vulnerable populations including patients seeking medical care in essential medical settings and in congregate senior living facilities.”

Although the COVID-19 vaccine is now widely available, approximately 30% of the healthcare workforce in these facilities and agencies remain unvaccinated. With the rise in the delta variant, ensuring that all workers in licensed healthcare facilities are vaccinated is one of the most effective means the state can take to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of all Coloradans and end this ongoing pandemic.

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