Kaiser Permanente suspends 2,200 unvaccinated employees

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Health care giant Kaiser Permanente has put more than 2,200 employees nationwide on unpaid leave for choosing not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. That’s a little over 1% of its workforce. The company says the employees have until Dec. 1 to get vaccinated and those who choose not to will be terminated. The Oakland-based company has about 216,000 employees. It says that since announcing the requirement on Aug 2, the vaccination rate among employees has gone from 78% to 92%. The vaccine mandates have proven successful, with many companies and employers seeing high compliance rates. Kaiser did not disclose how many exemptions it has approved for religious and medical reasons.