Pasadena Health Officer Mandates Booster for HCWs
The chief public health officer in Pasadena, CA, has issued an order for all healthcare workers in the city to receive the bivalent booster containing both the original strain of COVID-19 and two subvariants of omicron.
The March 29 order1 issued by Health Officer Eric Handler, MD, MPH, FAAP, “modifies the vaccination requirement to specify that healthcare workers be up to date with COVID-19 booster vaccinations. Workers are up to date with COVID-19 vaccines when they have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and got the most recent booster dose recommended by the CDC.”
There are four approved COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, but only two boosters described by the CDC as “updated”: the bivalent vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna. Many individual hospitals and healthcare systems have required healthcare workers to take the bivalent booster, but only a one-shot or two-shot primary series is required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Although Handler’s order says there is no specific requirement regarding the “type” of booster, only the bivalent vaccines meet the descriptive requirements and the referenced recommendations by the CDC.
All healthcare workers “must receive the primary series of vaccines and a vaccine booster dose pursuant to CDC guidance on ‘Staying Up to Date on COVID-19 Vaccines,’” Handler stated. “The virus poses a particular risk to the health of medically vulnerable residents and people who might be exposed through necessity based on their circumstances.”2
In a separate masking order, issued on the same day and also effective April 3, Handler required: “Each and every healthcare facility must, consistent with this order, implement a program requiring its personnel to wear a well-fitted mask at all times when personnel are in the same room or common area and sharing air space with a patient, client, or resident.”3
REFERENCES
- City Of Pasadena Health Officer Order for the Control of Covid-19. Order requiring vaccination of health care workers. March 29, 2023.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines including boosters. Updated March 2, 2023.
- City Of Pasadena Health Officer Order For The Control Of Covid-19. Order requiring wearing of face masks by personnel, patients, clients, and visitors in health care settings. March 29, 2023.
The chief public health officer in Pasadena, CA, has issued an order for all healthcare workers in the city to receive the bivalent booster containing both the original strain of COVID-19 and two subvariants of omicron.
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