Some Workers Refuse to Comply With Vaccine Mandate deadline

Some workers are quitting their jobs instead of meeting today’s deadline for COVID-19 vaccines in Oregon and Washington.  There is still a minority of state and medical personnel in Oregon and Washington who are not fully vaccinated.  Some are willing to lose their jobs over it, citing concerns about safety,  freedom and religion.  Some have been granted exceptions, including more than 700 Oregon Department of Corrections employees, mostly for religious reasons. 

Hundreds of thousands of employees have to show proof of vaccination or risk losing their jobs.  A majority of Oregon and Washington workers have gotten vaccinated.  But there are enough who refuse that departments are preparing for staff shortages.

In Oregon several unions have bargained for a November 30th deadline so they will have more time to get the shots. In Washington governor Jay Inslee insists there will be no delay.

More than 62% of the populations of both Oregon and Washington are now fully vaccinated. New forecasts from O.H.S.U. predict that Oregonians could reach herd immunity against the very contagious Delta variant of  COVID-19, by the end of this year.