10K State Workers 'Non-Compliant'; Lamont Extends Mandate Deadline

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont has granted an extension to state and school employees to submit their vaccination or testing compliance paperwork to the state.

Lamont's mandate that all state workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus went into effect Monday. Medical and religious exemptions are available under the order, and weekly COVID-19 testing can take the place of the jab.

State and school employees now have until end of day next Monday to submit their answers to a questionnaire on their vaccination status and plans on how they will be tested for the virus. Thousands of responses are coming in every day, Lamont said, and the state will still need several more days to process the information. In addition, the state is still negotiating terms with the public labor unions.

About 10,000 state workers have not yet submitted their paperwork or are "non-compliant," Lamont said. He said he is "pretty optimistic" there will be a surge of vaccinations just ahead of the new deadline, similar to what occurred Monday in New York.

Lamont made his remarks Wednesday during a news conference in Hartford.

Based on the current paperwork, vaccinations are leading tests by a ratio of six to one, State Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said. About 60 percent, or 19,000 Executive Branch workers have been fully vaccinated. A little over 3,000 have opted to be tested weekly. The state will foot the bill for that testing for about another month, the governor said.

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State Hospital employees, who cannot take the weekly testing option, are eligible for religious exemptions, according to Geballe.

Workers who do not comply will be placed on unpaid leave, which Geballe said would have "significant" implications for their health care coverage and pensions. State agencies are in the process of making contingency plans to compensate for any loss of workers, according to Geballe.

There are over 300 testing sites deployed throughout the state, according to Dr. Deidre S. Gifford, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services. Another 23 state-sponsored testing sites will be up and running by the end of this week.

"Look, there'll be some people who say, 'Hell, no!' Lamont said, adding he expects state and federal mandates will push vaccinations in Connecticut to over 90 percent shortly. As of Wednesday, a little over 68 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.