Mayo Clinic fires 700 employees after vaccination deadline

Sarah Seifert, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Jan. 19—EAU CLAIRE — Mayo Clinic Health System has fired about 1% of its employees across all its locations, or about 700 people, after a recent deadline for employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Almost 99% of workers at all Mayo Clinic sites were vaccinated or had received medical or religious exemptions by the Jan. 3 deadline, according to a statement from Mayo spokesperson Kelley Luckstein. The remaining workers were "released from employment," the statement said.

Mayo Clinic's workforce spans about 73,000 employees in total.

Mayo Clinic spokespeople did not answer a question about how many Mayo employees in northwestern Wisconsin were terminated because of the vaccination requirement.

Luckstein said the vaccine requirement helps protect patients, staffers and visitors: "Based on science and data, it's clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives. That's true for everyone in our communities — and it's especially true for the many patients with serious or complex diseases who seek care at Mayo Clinic each day."

Mayo Clinic's requirement said employees had to have at least one dose of the vaccine by Jan. 3, and they couldn't be overdue for a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

Only medical or religious exemptions were considered, and most employees who requested those exemptions were given approval, Luckstein said in the statement.

She added: "While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings."

Many other major health care providers are requiring employees to get vaccinated, including Prevea Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System, which have locations in the Eau Claire area.

Prevea administrators said in fall 2021 that they put the mandate in place to provide patients, families and staff a safe environment.