(KERO) — One of the largest health care providers in the United States is requiring all its physicians and workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September.

Kaiser Permanente announced it will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all its employees and doctors across the nation to set an example for the public. Kaiser is the largest private employer in California.

One doctor says she's hopeful that more people will get vaccinated.

"Once this surge is over there will probably be other variants that come down the pike and we want to be prepared this time," said Dr. Karen Gin. "We want to have a fully vaccinated community so when those variants arise, the impact for our communities will be negligible."

In California, state data shows 265,000 people were vaccinated the week of July 19th. That is up 20 percent from the week before.