Statement attributable to:
George M. Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA
President, American College of Physicians
WASHINGTON, D.C. November 4, 2021 –The American College of Physicians (ACP) supports the two new rules issued by the Biden administration this morning requiring COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers and employees in other workplaces. ACP supports requiring all health care workers to be vaccinated against highly transmissible diseases that pose a substantial risk of transmission, including COVID-19, as a condition of employment. Health care workers have an obligation to protect the health and well-being of their patients, getting recommended immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine, is key to that protection. Throughout the pandemic, physicians and other health care workers have repeatedly demonstrated their dedication to caring for the patients who need them. Ensuring that the health care workers who interact with our patients are vaccinated is a critical part of caring for them, their families and loved ones.
ACP also believes that employers and schools can appropriately require proof of vaccination for highly transmissible diseases, including COVID-19. Immunizations are essential in our fight against COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. Vaccines are safe and effective, they help prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death. Increasing the vaccination rate for COVID-19 is foundational in helping to bring infection rates under control and to keep them under control. Because vaccines are so vital to our ability to mitigate diseases that threaten the public health we need to employ as many different means of encouraging individuals to get vaccinated as possible.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org