APTQI Encourages COVID-19 Vaccination for Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Providers

Vaccination against COVID-19 shown to protect patients and preserve hospital capacity

WASHINGTON – The Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality & Innovation (APTQI) – an aligned group of therapists and practices advocating for the physical therapy profession in the areas of payment reform, quality initiatives, outcomes and innovation – affirms the importance for physical, occupational and speech therapists to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. As healthcare providers treating some of our nation’s most at-risk patient populations, APTQI encourages therapists to strongly consider receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We applaud physical therapy professionals who have been fully vaccinated against COVD-19 in order to protect themselves, their patients and their communities,” said Nikesh Patel, PT, executive director for APTQI. “In addition to helping safeguard our therapy patients, vaccinated individuals play a key role in ensuring hospital capacity remains open, particularly as we see spikes in infection across the country.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at helping protect against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, including the Delta variant. The CDC is urging everyone aged 12 years and older to get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

Data show more than 380 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the United States since December 2020. According to the CDC, the vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support approval or authorization of a vaccine. Further, these vaccines have undergone and will continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.

Vaccines are widely accessible in the United States and are available for everyone at no cost. To learn more about how to access a COVID-19 vaccine, click here.

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