Lamont: CT Nat'l Guard Ready To Fill State Vaccine Vacancies

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont has notified the Connecticut National Guard to be ready to fill some jobs vacated by state workers non-compliant with his order requiring COVID-19 vaccination or testing.

On Thursday, Lamont directed executive branch state agency heads to prepare for their non-compliant employees to be placed on unpaid leave starting next week. The deadline for the employees to provide proof of vaccination or compliance with weekly testing requirements is 11:59 p.m. on Monday.

State agencies will begin to place non-compliant employees on unpaid leave as soon as Tuesday, but no later than October 11.

Members of the Guard will be deployed to support agencies that provide critical health and safety services, according to a statement from the Governor's Office, released Thursday.

Lamont's mandate that all state workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus went into effect Monday, and much of their compliance paperwork came in at the 11th hour, according to state Chief Operating Josh Geballe. In some circumstances, medical and religious exemptions are available, and weekly COVID-19 testing can take the place of the jab.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 20,000 (63 percent) have indicated they are fully vaccinated, nearly 4,000 (12 percent) have started weekly testing, and just over 8,000 (25 percent) are still categorized as "non-compliant," a reduction of over 2,000 in the past two days.

Lamont said is hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

"I continue to remain optimistic that our employees will submit their testing and vaccination information quickly," Lamont said. "But as we have done throughout the pandemic, we will prepare for the worst to prevent impacts to the critical services the state provides. The health and safety of our employees and the people of Connecticut remain our top priority. We have provided most state employees with the option to get tested weekly instead of getting vaccinated, providing more flexibility than our neighboring states. We have also provided our employees with a compliance grace period. There is no reason all our employees should not be in compliance. I continue to count on state employees to lead by example and to respect their co-workers and the public by complying with this executive order, which is the law."