Deadline for COVID-19 vaccination pushed back to December for Dayton Children’s employees

DAYTON — The deadline for employees of Dayton Children’s Hospital to get a COVID-19 vaccination, or risk losing their job, has been extended into December, according to a hospital spokesperson.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Premier Health, Kettering Health, Dayton Children’s to require COVID-19 vaccines for all employees

Dayton Children’s employees will now have until December 1 to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the spokesperson confirmed to News Center 7′s John Bedell Tuesday. Previously, the deadline was set for October 1 when the hospital first announced the vaccine mandate in August.

>>Dayton Children’s Hospital protesters argue against vaccine mandate; hospital backs its decision

Three of the major health networks in the region, Premier Health, Kettering Health, and now Dayton Children’s all now have December 1 deadlines for employees to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.

>>Kettering Health makes changes to vaccine mandate; new exemption announced

Dayton Children’s was the first locally to announce a vaccine mandate for its workers, making the announcement in early August.

“This decision is made with a great deal of research, analysis and discussion, putting the safety of our children at the forefront,” a Dayton Children’s spokesperson said in the announcement Aug. 5. “With the recent surge in COVID cases across the country, we must go further to protect our nation’s children. They cannot protect themselves. We must do it for them.”

>> PHOTOS: Dayton Children’s vaccine mandate protest

The mandate at Dayton Children’s has prompted a protest previously, with about a dozen people demonstrating outside the hospital, located off Valley Street in Dayton Aug. 19.

“We are fine with people who want to vaccinate and wear a mask, but we don’t believe they should be taking that choice from us or take our jobs instead,” said Kyle, a technology coordinator in the Dayton Children’s Hospital pharmacy, who didn’t want to provide his last name during the Aug. 19 protest.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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