All Children’s Hospital Colorado employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1 or face tighter COVID-19 requirements, the system announced Thursday.

Children’s joins a growing group of Colorado hospitals and systems to require their staff be vaccinated.

UCHealth, Banner, Denver Health and National Jewish have recently said they will require their staff be inoculated, and the Colorado Hospital Association said Thursday that more will likely announce their policies soon.

Beyond the organizations’ individual requirements, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said earlier this month that all health care and hospital workers in the city must be vaccinated in the coming weeks.

In its announcement, Children’s said staff must be fully inoculated by Oct. 1. The “policy applies to all employees, medical staff, trainees, volunteers, vendors, medical students and contract staff,” the hospital wrote.

Employees who haven’t been vaccinated – fully or at all – by that deadline “will be subject to increased (protective gear) requirements,” along with regular testing. 

It’s unclear what additional protective equipment requirements will be levied against unvaccinated employees. A hospital spokeswoman said she was looking into the question.

The hospital directly linked its stance to infection concerns for children 11 and younger who are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine. It also referenced the spike in COVID-19 cases statewide and nationally, a trend driven by the more transmissible and more severe delta variant.

“While both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are experiencing this increase, the rate of spread and serious illness have been most pronounced for those who are unvaccinated,” the hospital wrote. “Meanwhile, 80% of Children’s Colorado patients, including those most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, remain ineligible for vaccination.”