A Wisconsin hospital this week said it is withdrawing medical and religious exemptions for some employees from the hospital’s covid-19 vaccine mandate, giving those employees until Sept. 21 to get the Novavax vaccine.
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, which operates 11 hospitals and more than 45 health centers and clinics throughout the midwest and employs more than 2,000 physicians, in an email said the Novavax vaccine option “eliminates conflicts” for those who originally declined covid-19 vaccination for religious or medical reasons.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July granted Emergency Use Authorization of the Novavax covid-19 vaccine for adults ages 18 and up. While the prior covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson used fetal cell lines from unborn fetuses in various stages of development and testing, the Novavax vaccine is made differently and does not use human fetal cell lines.