#746 - Thousands of Washington State Workers Seek Exemptions from COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

At least 8% of Washington state government workers subject to Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate have so far requested medical or religious exemptions, highlighting the breadth of resistance to the order.

As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 4,799 exemptions have been filed by workers at 24 state agencies in the governor’s executive Cabinet, according to spokespeople. The Cabinet includes most of the large agencies under Inslee’s purview, but doesn’t include smaller state agencies also subject to the mandate.

That amounts to roughly 8% of the approximately 60,000 state government employees who must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, or lose their jobs.

The numbers outline what’s at stake as Inslee pushes forward with one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates. In August, the governor ordered state workers, school workers and some health care employees to be vaccinated without a regular testing alternative as offered by some other states.

Join your host Sean Reynolds, owner of Summit Properties NW, and Reynolds & Kline Appraisal as he takes a look at this developing topic.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/thousands-of-washington-state-workers-seek-exemptions-from-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/

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