As COVID-19 infections are on the rise, fueled by the Delta variant and our community’s low vaccination rate, Emory Healthcare will require COVID-19 vaccinations for its health care providers and employees, with an expectation for all to receive their vaccinations by Oct. 1, 2021. As this significant spike in infections becomes more serious, we have a commitment to provide a safe environment for both our patients and our care teams.

Initially, we planned on requiring providers and employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination after full FDA approval, but with the significant rise in COVID cases and hospital admissions -- in concert with other health care systems in metro Atlanta -- we have reconsidered our plans. These vaccines have demonstrated a remarkable safety record after hundreds of millions of administrations given and we feel our decision to require COVID vaccinations for all our team members is the right and best decision from a public health perspective and our strongest defense against the virus.

To date, Emory Healthcare has administered more than 182,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to Emory Healthcare patients, physicians, staff, Emory University faculty, staff, students and community members since December 2020.