Those working for Washington state government or in the health care industry will have to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by mid-October to keep their jobs, Gov. Jay Inlsee announced Monday.
During an Aug. 9 press conference in Seattle, the governor announced an executive order requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment for state government workers and contractors who are present at state government sites, as well as workers in private health care and long-term care facilities. The governor said those workers had until October 18 to become fully vaccinated, meaning they would need to receive their last dose by October 4.
The mandate comes as COVID-19 activity continues to rise with the appearance of the delta variant of the disease in the state. The governor said case rates have doubled in one week in some instances, adding the reproductive number of the virus is the highest it has been since the first wave of the disease.
“We have essentially what is a new virus at our throats, a new virus that is twice as transmittable, and is causing an explosion of this dreaded disease in the state of Washington,” Inslee said about the delta variant.
Of COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 95 percent were unvaccinated, Inslee said.
“The reason that we are in this pickle today is because about 30 percent of our eligible citizens so far have chosen not to get this lifesaving vaccine,” Inslee said. “But we know it’s never too late to make the right choice and we’re confident that people will.”
Inslee characterized the increased disease activity as a threat to Washingtonians’ freedoms.
“We want the freedom of not having to shut down our economy again. We want the freedom of not having to wear masks sometime in the future. We want freedom (for) our children not having to worry about getting this disease,” Inslee said. “And we want freedom for everyone to live without having to think about the COVID virus.”
There is only one way for the state to maintain that freedom, the governor said. That’s through more Washingtonians receiving the “safe, effective, successful vaccine.”
Inslee said the mandate fit with the call to public service that state employees have for serving their fellow Washingtonians.
“Those fellow citizens have a right to be protected. They have a right not to be infected by those who are not vaccinated,” Inslee said.
Inslee said there would be limited exemptions from the vaccination requirement based on medical or religious criteria, but not for personal or philosophical beliefs. Those seeking the exemptions would have to apply, as they are not automatic.
The mandate does not apply to employees of agencies controlled by separately-elected officials, or K-12 or higher educational systems, Inslee said.
The governor estimated about 60,000 state employees may be affected by the mandate, alongside thousands of other contractors. The governor said about 400,000 licensed health care workers in Washington could also fall under the mandate.
“We are past the point of thinking we can test our way to safety here,” Inslee said, mentioning cases in the state department of corrections where despite regular testing, there have been two deaths of department workers in the past month.
Although the statewide recommendation for all individuals to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status has not become a mandate, “if these (disease) trends continue, we will have to take further actions of one dimension or the other to restrain this pandemic,” the governor said.
Inslee said the initial vaccine hesitancy was understandable, but there has been enough time since the vaccine rollouts to quash any uncertainty about their effectiveness and safety.
“We know these (vaccines) work and we know it’s the key to ending this pandemic,” Inslee said.
