Penalty For Barnstable County Workers Who Don't Get Vaccinated, Tested Weekly

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable County's 238 employees must either get the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to weekly PCR testing, according to a new policy the Board of Regional Commissioners approved in a 2-1 vote Wednesday.

Employees have until Nov. 30 to get at least one vaccine dose or submit to weekly testing on Mondays. They have until Dec. 31 to be fully vaccinated. Those that do not comply with the mandate will be suspended for five days without pay, and if they still don't comply after the suspension, they will be fired.

To make the policy as clear-cut as possible, County Administrator Beth Albert said county health officials didn't include any medical or religious exemptions. She said these exemptions aren't needed because the mandate only requires testing.

"If you're vaccinated, you need to provide documentation," Albert said. "There's no exemption to the testing. Nobody is getting fired. You just have to get the test."

County Commissioner Sheila Lyons called the policy "sound" and was among the two commissioners to vote for the mandate. Commission Chair Ronald Bergstrom also voted for the policy, though he argued its enforcement didn't go far enough. He said he would have preferred employees get vaccinated or be fired without exception.

"There's absolutely no reason why they should not get vaccinated," Bergstrom said. "There's a lot of misinformation going on out there. I think this is an apologetic policy."

Commissioner Mark Forest cast the lone vote against the mandate. He said the county's mandate should have been identical to federal and state policies, which have included language governing medical and religious exemptions.