The new policy allows for medical, religious and personal exemptions, but it also includes the threat of suspension and possible termination for those who refuse to get vaccinated and aren’t granted an exemption.
California would mandate that all businesses require their employees and independent contractors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under legislation announced Friday by Democratic state lawmakers that was immediately criticized by Republicans as government overreach.
Villanueva condemned the proposal, calling it a “death blow to public safety” that would result in the firing 4,000 members of his department.
Lawmakers want to create stricter vaccine mandates, especially for children. They anticipate an especially fierce fight in the coming months.
A vaccine mandate is critical “because citizens deserve to know that if they call 911, the men and women responding to the call are vaccinated,” said Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at UC Irvine.
California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent, the youngest age of any state, under a proposal late Thursday by a state senator.
Among the attendees was a man who said he’s been a Long Beach firefighter for 15 years, and said his colleagues in the LBFD are worried about losing their jobs.
Speaking at a downtown Los Angeles news conference, the sheriff said that as of Tuesday morning, 51.7% of the department’s roughly 16,000 employees are fully vaccinated.
All district employees regardless of their current work assignment will need to provide proof of vaccination by Jan. 3, and students will need to show proof by Jan. 22 to be allowed on campus.
Long Beach is requiring all of its 6,069 employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19—and those workers will face uphill battle if they seek an exemption to the requirement, officials say.
