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COVID‐19 vaccine uptake among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains of significant public health concern due to the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic. As a result, many healthcare institutions are considering or have implemented COVID‐19 vaccine mandates for HCWs. We assess defenses of COVID‐19 vaccine mandates for HCWs from both public health and professional ethics perspectives. We consider public health values, professional obligations of HCWs, and the institutional failures in healthcare throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic which have impacted the lived experiences of HCWs. We argue that, despite the compelling urgency of maximizing COVID‐19 vaccine uptake among HCWs, the ethical case for COVID‐19 vaccine mandates for HCWs in the United States is complex, and, under current circumstances, inconclusive. Nevertheless, we recognize that COVID‐19 vaccine mandates for HCWs have already been and will continue to be implemented across many healthcare institutions. Given such context, we provide suggestions for implementing COVID‐19 vaccine mandates for HCWs.