As of Wednesday, 1,887 Washington state employees have been terminated or left their positions after Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate took effect.
This equates to about 3% of the 63,000 Washington state workers who were told they needed to be fully vaccinated by Monday, according to the Office of Financial Management.
The majority of workers required to get a COVID-19 vaccine did. As of Tuesday, 92% of state workers were fully vaccinated, according to OFM data.
According to the data, 2,887 people are "pending action," meaning they may be planning to get vaccinated, are in the process of getting approval for working without being vaccinated, or are about to retire. Employees who have received an accommodation to work without being vaccinated total 1,927.
Vaccine mandate protests:Calif. vaccination mandate for kids sparks protest
Vaccine and daycares:Day care facilities are mandating COVID vaccine. Will they find enough staff to stay open?
Inslee's vaccination push came after a fifth wave of COVID-19 hit residents hard, especially those in rural areas with low vaccination rates, The Seattle Times reported. After the fifth wave, Inslee has implemented more mandates, such as requiring state and school employees to be vaccinated.
Now, starting Nov. 15, large events will require all attendees to either be fully vaccinated or a present a negative coronavirus test.
“These workers live in every community in our state, working together and with the public every day to deliver services,” Inslee said in a statement. “We have a duty to protect them from the virus, they have the right to be protected, and the communities they serve and live in deserve protection as well.”
The vaccine mandate has been criticized by conservative political leaders, such as Republican state Sens. Jeff Wilson and Doug Ericksen.
Ericksen called Islee's mandate a "failure of leadership in this state," and Wilson criticized the consequent "mass terminations."
“I don’t think any of us realized it would come to this, and I think many in the state Legislature are having second thoughts today," Wilson said in a statement. “Other states are requiring vaccinations, but none of them have taken it to the level of mass terminations. When one person makes all the decisions, there can be no question who is at fault.”
Inslee said that the mandate is necessary to stop the pandemic and that the government is proud of the 92% vaccinated state workers.
“Getting vaccinated against COVID is a public good. We have come so close to defeating this deadly disease,” Inslee said at the news conference. “We have the tool – the vaccine — to get this era behind us. It is safe, it is effective, and you will never regret getting it.”
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda
Source link
