Mayo Clinic to fire 700 employees for not obeying vaccine mandate

Roughly 700 workers will lose their jobs at the prestigious Mayo Clinic for not abiding by the health system's vaccine mandate policy.

According to the Star Tribune, employees at the clinic had until Monday to be adequately vaccinated, or to receive a medical or religious exception.

Mayo told the Tribune that a "majority" of exemption requests were granted.

"While final numbers are still not available, nearly 99% of staff across all Mayo Clinic locations have complied with the required vaccination program, meaning they have been vaccinated or have received medical or religious exemptions," the clinic said in a statement.

"This means that approximately 1% of staff across all locations will be released from employment as a result of the required vaccination program. This is comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs."

The clinic said last year that a mandate was necessary to ensure the safety of as many people as possible.

"While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe," the clinic said in the statement, reports the Star Tribune.

"If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings.

"Based on science and data, it's clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives. That's true for everyone in our communities — and it's especially true for the many patients with serious or complex diseases who seek care at Mayo Clinic each day."

The clinic is Minnesota's largest employer.