(Chicago, IL, Tuesday, September 14, 2021) – The healthcare workforce is overwhelmed by COVID. Pathology and laboratory professionals struggle to keep up with the increasing number of coronavirus tests that need immediate analysis. This means people with cancer and other life-threatening conditions face dangerous delays in diagnosis and treatment.

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is calling on policymakers, employers, event organizers, businesses, nonprofit leaders and others to take immediate steps to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory.

ASCP released a position analysis citing that the Delta variant has resulted in 93% of recent COVID-19 cases, causing an alarming increase in infections and hospitalizations.

Pathology and laboratory medicine experts believe mandatory vaccination is necessary to keep Americans safe, especially children under 12 who are not yet eligible for COVID vaccination.

Experts say the more people in a community who become vaccinated, the less opportunity the Delta variant, and potential future variants, have to cause sickness, hospitalization and death.

Federal, state and local government must play a pivotal role in mandating vaccination, and in places where they hesitate, private employers and others must intervene to require vaccination.

ASCP earlier signed a joint statement with more than 50 medical societies supporting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all healthcare and long-term care workers.

The American Society for Clinical Pathology unites more than 100,000 anatomic and clinical pathologists, medical laboratory professionals, residents and students to accelerate the advancement of laboratory medicine to better improve patient care through knowledge, collaboration, and global community. Visit https://www.ascp.org/content/home.