Kaiser Permanente suspends 2,200 employees who have not yet gotten the COVID-19 vaccine - less than 2% of its workforce

• Kaiser Permanente suspended nearly 5,000 employees who have not yet gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.
• This accounts for about 2% of the healthcare company's 240,000 employees.
• Anyone who changes their mind has until December 1 to get the vaccine and return to work.

The vaccination rate at Kaiser Permanent has jumped 14% since the health care company announced in August that it would be requiring employees to be inoculated against COVID-19.

But the California-based company - which previously announced its vaccine mandate would go into effect September 30 - has had to place, as of October 4, just over 2,200 employees on unpaid leave for failing to comply with the requirement, a spokesperson said.

That number is down from the nearly 5,000 employees that were put on leave at the end of last montth.

Those suspended account for less than 1% of the company's 240,000 workers. They have until December 1 to change their mind and get the vaccine.

"We hope none of our employees will choose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated, but we won't know with certainty until then," Marc Brown, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement. "We will continue to work with this group of employees to allay concerns and educate them about the vaccines, their benefits, and risks."

At the time Kaiser Permanente announced its mandate in early August, 78% of its employees were fully vaccinated, according to the company Since then, the number has risen to 92%, with the company providing exemptions for medical or religious reasons.