How to Develop a Covid-19 Employee Vaccination Policy

Lessons from a health care system in Texas.

by

and

Marc L. Boom

by

and

Marc L. Boom

July 01, 2021

Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images

Summary.

Employers around the world are struggling with the question of whether they should mandate that their workers be vaccinated against Covid-19. Houston Methodist, an eight-hospital academic medical center, developed a seven-step process that can help all employers make this decision. It includes guidelines for allowing workers to be temporarily or permanently exempted from the mandate.

Employers grappling with the issue of whether to require their workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as well as other infectious diseases may benefit from the process that Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston, used to make that decision.

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Susan M. Miller, MD, is the John S. Dunn, Sr. Research Chair in General Internal Medicine and department chair of family medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital. She is also a professor of clinical medicine at Houston Methodist Academic Institute and an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Robert A. Phillips, MD, is executive vice president and chief physician executive at Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston. He is also president and chief executive officer of the Houston Methodist Physician Organization and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell College of Medicine.
Roberta L. Schwartz is an executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston.
H. Dirk Sostman, MD, is the Ernest Cockrell Jr. Presidential Distinguished Chair and president of the Houston Methodist Academic Institute. He is also an executive vice president, chief academic officer, and chair of the Vaccine Scientific Advisory Committee at Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston.
Carole Hackett is a senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston.
Marc L. Boom, MD, is president and chief executive officer of Houston Methodist, an academic medical center comprising eight hospitals in Houston. He is also an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Medical College and an adjunct professor of management, policy and community health at The University of Texas School of Public Health.

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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Ethics at Work. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

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How to Develop a Covid-19 Employee Vaccination Policy

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