On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to require County employees to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or submit to weekly coronavirus testing.
The motion passed unanimously and directs County staff to establish a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, effective immediately, which requires all County employees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 1, 2021 or submit to weekly testing.
Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged that there are many reasons that residents might refuse to get a vaccine, including fear, misinformation or ideological opposition. However, she also noted that many of the 24,783 people who had died in L.A. County due to COVID-19 didn’t get a chance to make that decision for themselves.
“The fastest way for us to be able to slow transmission is through vaccinations. It is the most powerful tool we have,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County Public Health Director.
Ferrer noted that exemptions for vaccinations due to medical conditions or religious reasons can be available for COVID-19 vaccinations, as with all vaccines required by law such as in school settings, in which case regular testing is appropriate.
A secondary motion introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl that was also passed calls for the creation of a Vaccination Policy for County employees in the next 15 days.
“In order to increase our vaccination rates, it is important that Los Angeles County have a mandatory vaccination policy for its workforce of approximately 100,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and explore the feasibility of requiring contractors to follow this policy as well,” read the motion. “The Board of Supervisors must also take the common-sense and important step of adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required immunizations for County healthcare workers.”
Hahn also introduced a motion that directs County staff to research the feasibility of requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter all indoor spaces, or just to certain non-essential businesses and events, with the report to look at other locations that adopted similar mandates, such as New York City.
“I want to avoid a situation where we are forced to shut down businesses and limit capacity,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “That was devastating to our businesses and our local workers. We need to look at every tool at our disposal to protect our residents and our economy.”
Hahn’s motion also would instruct the County Department of Public Health to report back to the Board in 14 days with the process for how people can prove their vaccination status and businesses can verify vaccination status using existing digital or paper records.
“Everyone who is eligible has the responsibility to get vaccinated,” said Supervisor Hahn. “The vaccines are our best tool to get out of this pandemic and they provide a layer of protection for not only the vaccinated person, but for everyone around them.”
The motion comes on the heels of announcements that fully vaccinated people appear to be well protected from infections with Delta variants, however people with only one vaccine dose of Pfizer or Moderna are not as well-protected, according to public health officials.
The smaller number of COVID-19 infections identified in people who are fully vaccinated have reportedly been mild illnesses, according to health officials.
“I agree fundamentally that it is time to do more, I also think it is important that we are very, very clear, we can not afford to make confusion among our employees,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
To learn how to make a vaccine appointment, what verifications you will need to show at your appointment and much more, visit the L.A. County Vaccination website (English) or Vacunate Los Angeles website (Spanish).
Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
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