Rush University Medical Center is mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its workers, joining at least a handful of other Chicago area hospitals that are also requiring the shots.

       Rush is requiring all staff, contractors and volunteers at the medical center and Rush Oak Park Hospital to be fully vaccinated by October 1.

       “Universal COVID-19 vaccination will strengthen our ability to protect the health and safety of our staff, help safeguard members of our community who are at the highest risk of developing serious disease from the coronavirus and bring us another step closer to resuming full operations,” Rush said in a statement Monday.

       Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora is not part of the mandate at this time, but is in discussions about it, said system spokesman Tobin Klinger.

       Rush University Medical Center is mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its workers, joining at least a handful of other Chicago area hospitals that are also requiring the shots. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

       The announcement comes amid increasing pressure on hospitals to mandate the vaccines, partly to slow the spread of the delta variant. More than 50 health care organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Nursing Association, released a statement Monday supporting vaccine mandates in health care.

       “Unfortunately, many health care and long-term care personnel remain unvaccinated,” the health care organizations said in their statement. “As we move toward full FDA approval of the currently available vaccines, all health care workers should get vaccinated for their own health, and to protect their colleagues, families, residents of long-term care facilities and patients. This is especially necessary to protect those who are vulnerable, including unvaccinated children and the immunocompromised.”

       Most new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are now due to the delta variant, though Illinois had only 565 known cases tied the delta variant as of Friday, according to the state health department.

       In the Chicago area, Loyola Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine and UI Health, which includes University of Illinois Hospital, have also said they are mandating vaccines for workers.

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