Thurston County issues vaccination requirement for county workers

Residents shared overwhelming support for vaccination mandate

Posted

In a 2-1 vote, the Thurston County Commissioners approved a mandatory requirement for all county workers to be vaccinated by Sep. 31, 2021 or submit a negative COVID-19 vaccination test every two weeks.

County Manager Ramiro Chavez presented a resolution for the requirement on Tue., Aug. 24, during the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) meeting.

Commissioner. Carolina Mejia, and Tye Menser favored the resolution. Commissioner. Gary Edwards expressed his reservation for the requirement, commenting that there have been around 30,000 cases of adverse reactions from the vaccine. While Edwards recognized that it might be a small percentage, he feels that the numbers remain an adequate reason why the county cannot “coerce” people to take the vaccine.

During the public hearing, several citizens came forward to speak in favor of the mandatory requirement. Michael Ochs, a county resident said, “I wanted to speak in favor of requiring vaccines for county employees. I think it's important to protect public health, especially with this variant rising. Protecting the public, protecting those who don’t have a choice.”

Craig Apperson shared the same sentiment “as a public service employee...it seems to me that there seems to be an obligation on the part of public employees to step up to the plate, and make sure that they are doing everything they can to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of citizens.” 

Another resident, Keoki Kauanoe stated, “It’s about the necessity to think about others, to think of our health in a community sense, and not just whether or not I want to do whatever I want to do. [It's not] my body, my choice, it's our communities, our choice.”

Experts also attended the public hearing to support the requirement. Karie Nicholas, an epidemiologist at the Washington Association for Community Health, shared her personal opinion on vaccines. She shared that as a person suffering from epilepsy, the state requires her to have her medications before she is permitted to drive. “Because I am a danger to the public if I don’t,” Nicholas said and believes that the same is true for vaccines.  “We do not have the right to endanger the public,” she added.

Nicholas also clarified that being vaccinated does not automatically eliminate all the risks against the disease, rather she explained that vaccination reduces such risks.

Comments

1 comment on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • LauratheBruce

    from the article: “It’s about the necessity to think about others, to think of our health in a community sense, and not just whether or not I want to do whatever I want to do. [It's not] my body, my choice, it's our communities, our choice.” Those who make statements like this, may mean well but they are actually saying, "We know what's best for you and this is for the good of the whole." Neither statement is true. I don't know a single person who thinks,"I'm not getting this shot because I don't care about anyone but myself." We are not being given full disclosure on the "safety " of these shots. The community at large is making decisions on false assumptions and half-truths. You HAVE to do your own research outside of the mainstream rhetoric if you want truth. Our communities are made up of bodies that house individuals who must make educated decisions for their OWN good. When we educate ourselves to make correct decisions, the community thrives. If our right to choose is taken away, our communities, as we know them, no longer exist.

    Tuesday, August 31, 2021 Report this