July 27, 2021
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) believes that having nurses vaccinated against COVID-19 is critical to protecting our members, their families and our communities.
With the spread of the delta variant and the rise in infection rates, particularly among the unvaccinated, vaccination is a critical tool to keep people safe and prevent our health care systems from being overwhelmed.
Oregon nurses have a long, proud history of promoting and providing free vaccinations while protecting the privacy of individuals’ health care records. ONA is not currently seeking a change to Oregon’s statute prohibiting vaccinations as a condition of employment. We urge all people who can get vaccinated to do so, but we also believe that any mandates related to vaccinations must be the subject of negotiations between employers and represented workers prior to any policy change in a facility.
Oregon’s nursing workforce has experienced significant strains during the past year including challenges maintaining safe staffing levels, struggles with sufficient PPE supply, threats of workplace violence and more. We are deeply concerned that a vaccine mandate outside of contract negotiations will result in more health care workers leaving the bedside at a time when Oregon’s hospitals are already experiencing serious staffing issues.
ONA will continue to meet with other labor, business and health care provider organizations to discuss coordinated efforts to improve vaccination rates. Oregon needs a cohesive strategy to raise COVID-19 vaccination rates and we believe we can work together to move a strategy forward quickly.
We also believe all health care professionals should redouble their efforts on vaccine advocacy, and specifically focus on addressing the rampant disinformation around vaccines that is creating uncertainty and fueling vaccine hesitancy.
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The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents 15,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state. Our mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.
