Officials announced earlier this week that municipal workers will be required to get the vaccine within 10 weeks after it is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although exceptions will reportedly be granted for religious or medical reasons, it is not yet clear what the procedure for such exemptions will be or how they will be approved. However, we do know that the medical exemptions will only apply to employees who have medical conditions affecting their vaccine eligibility and must be verified by a medical provider. Those with a “sincerely held religious belief” that stops them from getting a vaccine would have their requests reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city’s human resources policy chief, Mawuli Tugbenyoh, said that employees who don’t get the jab face “repercussions [that] go all the way up to termination.” He added that they are currently focusing on “education” and “outreach” – which presumably involves falsely painting the vaccines in a positive light and shaming people into thinking they will hurt society by not complying – although it’s likely that those employees who don’t want the vaccine have already done their own unbiased research on the matter and understand the true risks quite well.
Starting June 28, city employees will be given 30 days to inform the city of their vaccination status. When the vaccines are granted FDA approval, they will be required to submit their status through the city’s payroll system with evidence such as photos of vaccination cards. None of the vaccines being used in the U.S. for COVID-19 right now have gained full FDA approval yet; all are being administered under emergency authorization, which makes requiring them questionable from a legal standpoint.
So far, roughly 81 percent of people in San Francisco over age 12 have been given at least one dose of the vaccine. The city estimates that 50 to 60 percent of its workforce has already been vaccinated.
City workers express concerns about mandate
The move makes San Francisco the first major American city to require all its employees to be vaccinated. Of course, many people who work for the city are outraged by the mandate. Even those who are willing to get the vaccine themselves take issue with the ethics of such a mandate and worry about where it could lead.
Roger Marenco, the president of Transport Workers Union Local 250-A, who represents Muni workers, told local CBS affiliate KPIX 5: “So we are in favor of anybody and everybody being vaccinated. However, we are not in favor of forced, mandatory vaccines, whether that be due to personal beliefs, religious beliefs, political beliefs, health issues, safety issues, whatever the case may be.”
He added that they had not received any guidelines from the city.
The Vice President of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Police Sgt. Tracy McCray, said that terminating someone over this was extreme. Meanwhile, the union representing city firefighters is consulting with employment lawyers to learn more about their options.
Although the city claims it wants to protect people from the risks of COVID-19, what about the risks of the COVID-19 vaccines? Deadly blood clots, heart problems and antibody-dependent enhancement are just a few of the problems they could be subjecting their employees to, and the idea that an employer can take away people’s right to make choices about their own health in America is unconscionable.
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