Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are significant numbers of health care workers quitting due to vaccine mandates?

Saturday, October 23, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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Thus far, it seems very few health care workers are willing to risk their jobs over vaccinations.

According to Fierce Healthcare, those who quit rather than receive the vaccine often make up less than 1% of a hospital's workforce.

The New York Times similarly found that the non-compliance rate at large hospitals ranged between 0.5% and 2%.

The Conversation reported that while half of unvaccinated workers say they'd rather quit than get a shot, few are following through: between 0.3% at an Indiana hospital and 2.3% at an Alabama hospital — a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates.

Rather than Biden's vaccine mandate, which permits religious and medical exemptions and a weekly testing alternative, factors driving the shortage of health care workers include COVID-19 burnout, retirement and an aging population that is living longer and in need of more care.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

White House President Biden's COVID-19 Plan

Fierce Healthcare How many employees have hospitals lost to vaccine mandates? Here are the numbers so far

New York Times Only a fraction of U.S. health care workers are risking their jobs over vaccinations.

The Conversation Half of unvaccinated workers say they’d rather quit than get a shot – but real-world data suggest few are following through

AP News List of federal vaccine mandate exemptions is inaccurate

Duquesne University School of Nursing The Shortage of Healthcare Workers in the US

Morning Consult Nearly 1 in 5 Health Care Workers Have Quit Their Jobs During the Pandemic

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.