UF Health no longer requires its employees to mask – unless they’re unvaccinated

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – UF Health has updated the masking requirements for its healthcare settings, following new guidance from the CDC that was released on September 23. The CDC now recommends that healthcare workers wear “respirators or well-fitting facemasks or cloth masks” if the COVID-19 Community Level is “high”; if the level is “medium” or “low,” masks are now optional. Alachua County is currently at the “medium” level; the masking policy issued by UF Health on October 11 states that community levels will be reviewed weekly to determine whether to change the masking requirement.

The CDC still recommends masks for healthcare workers who have COVID-19 symptoms, have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, work in a unit experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak, or “have otherwise had source control recommended by public health authorities.”

The CDC also issued guidance on August 11 that removed the distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated people; all recommendations are now the same for the two groups.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires all hospital employees to have at least the initial vaccination series (one dose for Johnson & Johnson or two doses for Pfizer and Moderna) unless they have a medical or religious exemption. Perhaps because of this requirement, the CDC guidance for healthcare workers does not have any separate recommendations for unvaccinated healthcare workers, but UF Health’s new guidance requires unvaccinated employees to wear N-95 masks “when in all areas of UF Health hospitals and hospital outpatient facilities.”

UF Health employees who have provided proof of COVID-19 vaccination are given a “health care hero” sticker to wear on their ID badge. Any employee who does not have this sticker is required to wear an N-95 mask. The requirement also applies to students “engaged in learning experiences and/or clinical rotations”; any staff working in the hospitals or outpatient facilities, regardless of their employer arrangement; volunteers; and vendors.

The Florida legislature passed a bill last November that prevented employers from firing employees who are not vaccinated; the legislation requires employers to accept exemption forms provided by the Florida Department of Health. However, the bill did not ban discrimination against unvaccinated employees, and Cox Communications, for example, forced unvaccinated employees to use separate restrooms in 2021.