A week that began with great optimism and excitement as hospitals received their first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine ended with reports of growing tension in at least two prestigious organizations as employees with limited patient exposure received their first dose of the vaccine before front-line workers.

Employers can legally require staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to their place of work, according to updated guidelines from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Renton, Wash.-based Providence is offering new benefits for workers who receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the 51-hospital health system said in a Dec. 17 statement shared with Becker's.

A TikTok video featuring Boston Medical Center workers celebrating the arrival of their first COVID-19 vaccine doses has gone viral, according to Newsweek.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, virus transmission to front-line workers has been a key issue at hospitals and health systems.

The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association sent an open letter to healthcare workers Dec. 15 urging them to take a COVID-19 vaccine and share their experience with others.

As hospitals and health systems receive the first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, they must decide which front-line workers are inoculated first based on supply, local and state guidelines, and other factors. One Pennsylvania health system, Pittsburgh-based UPMC, is using health status, occupation and lottery to help make that determination, according to The Wall Street Journal.

On Dec. 14, Bon Secours Mercy Health was among U.S. health systems to receive the first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. 

The first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are on their way to hospitals, and healthcare workers could receive their first shots as early as Dec. 14. 

Cleveland Clinic and Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare have joined a coalition to create 1 million jobs for Black Americans over 10 years. 

With the virus surging in many areas, getting front-line caregivers inoculated is more important than ever. It's also a crucial step in preventing staffing shortages. 

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is disputing allegations that he complained to hospital officials about their employees doing media interviews on conditions of facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Frontier, which cites multiple sources with healthcare facilities and the governor's office.

The safety of workers has been a high priority for hospitals and health systems across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, and New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health is no exception. 

UPMC, a 40-hospital academic medical system based in Pittsburgh, has brought in more nursing help, added beds and continues to expand telemedicine use as COVID-19 cases rise in Pennsylvania and other areas of the country, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Amid COVID-19 surges across the U.S., New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signaled his support for requiring hospitals to report outbreaks among their workers, NorthJersey.com reported.

The number of Henry Ford Health System employees who are away from work because of issues related to COVID-19 is increasing, prompting continued concern about transmission in the community, Adnan Munkarah, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer, said during a media briefing Dec. 4.

As COVID-19 spread across the U.S. early this year, hospitals and health systems adjusted their workforce. Many administrative workers who could work from home were instructed to do so, and they have remained remote.

With COVID-19 vaccines closer to reality, health systems are planning how they will approach inoculating their employees, while considering vaccines' potential side effects that could sideline workers and create staffing shortages. To help reduce the risk of shortages, health systems are looking at various approaches, such as staggering the dates vaccines are given to workers and end-of-shift shots for workers, according to Bloomberg.

Healthcare added 46,000 jobs in November, with hospitals seeing job growth for the fifth month since March, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As COVID-19 cases spike across the U.S., staffing has become an even greater concern at hospitals, particularly as workers are sidelined for virus-related reasons. Therefore, many of these organizations are relying more heavily on outside staffing, including travel nurses, to ensure the needs of patients are met.