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Can employers require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

FILE - In this March 5, 2021, file photo, a nurse holds a vial of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine provided through the global COVAX initiative, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic, especially in developing nations. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) FILE - In this March 5, 2021, file photo, a nurse holds a vial of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine provided through the global COVAX initiative, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic, especially in developing nations. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

By Elizabeth Fite March 19, 2021 5 min read

With the promise of widespread COVID-19 vaccine availability on the horizon, employers may be weighing whether to require workers to be vaccinated in order to safely return to work.

Rebecca Demaree, a Nashville-based attorney with Cornelius & Collins who specializes in health care, labor and employment law, said that employers can mandate vaccines for employees – including the COVID-19 vaccines – if they determine that it is valid for their position and the policy is clearly communicated.

“Is it a safety risk in a profession for you not to have vaccinated employees? Do you put the other employees, your customers at risk if you don’t require the vaccine?” Demaree said.

The Tennessee Department of Health does not currently recommend that employers require COVID-19 vaccines as long as supplies are scarce and vaccines are operating under the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization. That recommendation could change once there’s enough vaccine supply for every American and the coronavirus vaccines achieve full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.