Dental News - ADA publishes FAQ on vaccines in the dental office

Dental Tribune USA

Wed. 18 August 2021

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Can I as a health care employer require my employees to get COVID-19 vaccines? If I require staff members to be vaccinated, what proof can I request them to provide? What should I do if a staff member refuses to be vaccinated?

These questions as well as a half-dozen others regarding the responsibility and obligations of owner dentists when it comes to vaccination and their team members are answered in a new FAQ sheet prepared by the ADA, called “COVID-19 Vaccines in the Dental Workplace: FAQs for Practice Owners.”

The FAQ is available here.

Other questions answered include the following:

If I require my staff to be vaccinated, must I pay for the vaccine and/or provide paid time off for them to receive the shot(s) (or pay for time off in the case of side effects)?
What if I require a vaccination and a staff member suffers an adverse reaction?
May staff members who have been vaccinated refuse to wear a mask and socially distance?
Can I tell patients if my staff members are vaccinated?

In addition, the FAQ addresses the vaccine requirements regarding the accommodation of team members with disabilities, including pregnancy-related disabling health conditions, as well as employees with genuinely held religious beliefs that prevent them from receiving a vaccine.

The ADA also offers a Q&A on vaccines for employee dentists, available here.

As of June 2021, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute, 93.4 percent of dentists surveyed reported having received at least one vaccine dose, and 89.8 percent reported they were fully vaccinated. As of late July, 72.7 percent of surveyed dental hygienists were fully vaccinated, and 78.2 percent had received at least one dose.

More information on the ADA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is available at ADA.org/virus.

(Author: David Burger/ADA)

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