State Public Health Officer Order Regarding Worker Vaccination Mandate

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This post is intended for IRC Service Providers, though clients and families may find this information useful.

 

In an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 in adult and senior care facilities and in-home direct care settings, the State Public Health Officer has issued an order that all corresponding workers must be vaccinated to reduce the chance of transmission to vulnerable populations.

Adult and senior care facilities, and settings within which direct care and services are provided, as identified in this order, are high-risk settings where COVID-19 transmission and outbreaks can have severe consequences for vulnerable populations resulting in hospitalization, severe illness, and death. Further, the settings in this order share several features. There is frequent contact between staff or workers and highly vulnerable individuals, including elderly, chronically ill, critically ill, medically fragile, and people with disabilities. In many of these settings, the consumers and residents are at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease due to underlying health conditions, advanced age, or both.

The following is an excerpt of the first section of the order, regarding categories of workers that are included in this vaccine mandate:

1. All individuals in subdivisions (a) through (e) must have the first dose of a one-dose regimen or the second dose of a two-dose regimen by November 30, 2021.
a.   All workers who provide services or work in Adult and Senior Care Facilities licensed by the California Department of Social Services;

b.   All in-home direct care services workers, including registered home care aides and certified home health aides, except for those workers who only provide services to a recipient with whom they live or who are a family member of the recipient for whom they provide services;

c.   All waiver personal care services (WPCS) providers, as defined by the California Department of Health Care Services, and in-home supportive services (IHSS) providers, as defined by the California Department of Social Services, except for those workers who only provide services to a recipient with whom they live or who are a family member of the recipient for whom they provide services;

d.   All hospice workers who are providing services in the home or in a licensed facility; and

e.   All regional center employees, as well as service provider workers, who provide services to a consumer through the network of Regional Centers serving individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, except for those workers who only provide services to a recipient with whom they live or who are a family member of the recipient for whom they provide services.

Read the complete PHO order and DDS Directive below:


California Department of Public Health Website

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Community Engagement

Inland Regional Center's Community Engagement Unit can be reached at [email protected]

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