![]() Kate Walsh, Healey’s secretary of health and human services, said in an interview that administration officials plan to treat COVID more like other respiratory illnesses. This includes staff in the state's departments of developmental services and youth services. “I’m thrilled to see the governor has taken bold action in reversing this destructive policy.”įederal and state requirements for health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID will remain in place, the governor’s office said. “The terminating of hard working, loyal state employees made a negative impact,” Dennis Martin, president of the correction officers union, said in a statement. The State Police Association of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union praised Healey’s decision to rescind the mandate. The requirement for state workers drew lawsuits from unions representing state troopers and correction officers. Since their implementation, vaccination mandates have been the target of several legal challenges. ![]() Healey’s office said the mandate, known as Executive Order 595, raised the percentage of fully vaccinated executive department employees from about 76% to more than 99%. Officials denied 89% of the requests they received for medical or religious exemptions, granting just 256 of more than 2,300 requests, WBUR reported last year. ![]() Baker ordered more than 41,000 workers to get vaccinated or secure a medical or religious exemption.īaker’s office previously said about 1,000 workers resigned or were fired for failing to comply with the mandate. Charlie Baker, and at the time was one of the strictest mandates in the country. The vaccination requirement for state workers began in October 2021 under former Gov. “We know that we have the tools to manage this virus - vaccines, masking, testing, getting treatments and staying home when sick - and we’ve reached the point where we can update our guidance to reflect where we are now.” An end to the vaccination requirement “We’ve made important progress in the fight against COVID-19,” Healey said in a statement Wednesday. Healey said the vaccination requirement for state workers saved “countless lives,” but that it’s time to update the state’s COVID response. The health emergency and the vaccination mandate for state workers will be lifted on May 11, the same day that the federal COVID public health emergency ends. The decision reflects the changing picture of COVID three years after the start of the pandemic - and more than two years after vaccines first became available. Healey said she’s also ending the state COVID health emergency, which began in 2020 and gave the governor’s office temporary powers to respond to the COVID crisis. ![]() Maura Healey is ending the sweeping and controversial mandate that state employees be vaccinated against COVID. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |