Dr. Stephanie Silvera Comments on COVID Booster Deadline for Healthcare Workers

Hundreds of thousands of health care workers in New Jersey’s hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities had until April 11, 2022, to be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 or face disciplinary action, including the possibility of losing their job. And despite an initial uproar, it seems most health care workers have complied.

While unpopular with some, the mandate for health care workers seems to have worked. However, experts note, some of its power came from the federal government’s threat to suspend Medicare and Medicaid payments to facilities at which staff members were not immunized by late February.

Dr. Stephanie Silvera, Professor in the Public Health Department, stated, “The piece that makes people who are against the mandates most uncomfortable is that mandates work. The reality is, if it’s required for your job, or to get into school, and there are no other options, the majority of the people will get vaccinated. So they work in that way.”

Dr. Silvera said the value of these mandates, and the rising immunization levels that result, can be seen in the way new COVID-19 case numbers have continued to remain low — even with a slight uptick recently — as a new, more transmissible variant takes hold in New Jersey. “So far, that is not translating into more hospitalization and more death and that is due in large part to the efficacy of these vaccines,” she said.

Dr. Silvera said she is sensitive to the strain that mandates may put on health care workers, a workforce that — like teachers — has endured nearly impossible conditions during the pandemic and remains underpaid. But she said vaccinations can help reduce the stress on the health care system, which was nearly overwhelmed during the most recent surge brought on by the omicron variant, creating a more sustainable work situation for the caregivers.