CA Weighs Vaccine Mandate For All Workers [SURVEY]

CALIFORNIA — California lawmakers are weighing a new mandate that would force businesses to require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers.

The bill, which was introduced Friday by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, was revised from a previous version that would have allowed workers to test weekly for COVID-19 as an alternative to getting vaccinated. The new legislation would only allow exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

"Our pathway to stability—and away from a perpetual state uncertainty—is clear: vaccination," Wicks tweeted.

Even as the omicron surge continues to diminish, Wicks said the mandate is needed as California eases other mandates and moves into an "endemic" phase, the Associated Press reported.

"We’re looking back at the last two years — what worked, what didn’t, what we’ve all learned on the journey we’ve been on together," Newsom said this week.

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The mandate would stay in place as long as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccines.

"People have experienced so much whiplash these past few years when it comes to testing, masks, & vaccines — in the workplace, in our schools, in the businesses they visit," Wicks said Friday. "People are craving stability, and we know enough at this point in the pandemic that we can make that happen."

The proposal was swiftly lambasted by Republicans, who argued that the move was government overreach.

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher urges Californians to get vaccinated but argued that "telling people they can’t feed their family unless they get the vaccine is just wrong," according to the Associated Press.

"I trust Californians enough to treat them like adults who can make their own health care decisions. It’s unfortunate that a few Democrats in the Legislature don’t," he said.

In December, Gov. Gavin Newsom that all health care workers in California will be required to get a booster shot in addition to the precursor doses of Pfizer or Moderna.

The Golden State became the first in the U.S. to announce a vaccine mandate for health care workers. The order includes physicians, nurses, technicians, janitors and all other workers in health care facilities.

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Vaccine mandates have created a political maelstrom in the U.S. since the shots became available and California has seen some of the toughest vaccine rules.

"I recognize the challenges facing businesses — they don’t need to be pulled into a political debate, they want certainty," Wicks said. "Many challenges are a function of people having to make choices in light of all the whiplash. Vaccines are the key to stabilizing the ground beneath our feet."

It remains to be seen whether California will issue more booster shot requirements for state workers and other employees across the state.

As the highly transmissible delta variant swept the nation over the summer and the omicron befell the state in the winter, federal officials recommended that all vaccinated Americans get an additional vaccine shot. Now, a fourth shot is being recommended for immunocompromised Americans even as infections wane.

AB-1993 would require state health and occupational safety authorities to direct employers on what exemptions apply for medical conditions and religious beliefs.

“Just like we would never ask a construction worker to go to a construction site without a hardhat, we shouldn’t ask our members and workers who work in these essential industries to go in without the protection of a vaccine,” Jim Araby of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 told the Associated Press.

Representatives of a national Small Business Majority advocacy group have also shown support for the Golden State bill.

"Small businesses don’t want to be traffic cops in debates about public safety,” John Arensmeyer, the group’s chief executive, told the AP. "They’re looking for a common statewide standard that disentangles them from politics and enables them to operate their businesses safely and predictably."

California's indoor masking requirement will expire Feb. 15 amid falling case and hospitalization rates, officials announced earlier this month.

"Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving," said state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón. "With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state."

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