Cincinnati hospitals 'require' vaccinations for employees

UPDATE, 9:05 a.m.: All Cincinnati area hospital employees will be required to get the vaccine for COVID-19, says CEO Michael Fisher of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

EARLIER REPORT: Hospital officials across the Cincinnati region are speaking at 9 a.m. Thursday to alert the public about increased sickness from the delta variant of the new coronavirus.

The event at the Christ Hospital Health Network in Mount Auburn occurs as hospitals across Ohio are issuing vaccination mandates to employees. Cincinnati-area hospitals have not imposed that requirement yet but they warned workers that the situation could change.

Local officials have said recently that close to 99% of hospitalizations in the region are of people who have not yet been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The rise is coming from the more infectious delta variant. Only about 60% of residents in the region have been vaccinated so far. Experts have said that to achieve herd immunity to protect against the virus, at least 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated.

More:Here's which Southwest Ohio, NKY school districts are requiring masks this fall

More:What we know about COVID-19 delta variant precautions, vaccination rates around Cincinnati

This report will be updated