Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, placed about 2,200 unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave nationwide due to the company’s COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to a statement from the company. The 2,200 employees who were suspended represent more than 1 percent of the firm’s workforce as the company employs around 216,000 people nationwide. They have until Dec. 1 to get vaccinated in order to return back to work, the firm’s Tuesday statement said. “We hope none of our employees will choose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated, but we won’t know with certainty until then,” Kaiser said in the statement. “We will continue to work with this group of employees to allay concerns and educate them about the vaccines, their benefits, and risks.” Several other large hospital systems have issued similar directives in recent days. New York-based Northwell Health terminated 1,400 workers because they …