California Democrats considering more COVID vaccine rules on top of Biden order
California Democrats said they would consider stronger vaccine mandates than what President Joe Biden announced Thursday if infection rates don’t decline and if outbreaks continue in schools over the next several months.
Biden’s emergency rule announced Thursday mandates all private sector companies with more than 100 workers to require the shots or weekly testing for their unvaccinated employees. The order could ultimately affect two-thirds of the American work force.
Biden also announced a vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers and contractors, as well as for health care professionals who work in facilities that get Medicare and Medicaid funding. The president additionally urged governors to compel vaccinations for school employees and increase testing capacity in order to keep students in classrooms.
Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, said Thursday that she would consider writing legislation to bolster Biden’s order once lawmakers return to Sacramento in January.
The 2021 session ends Friday, and Wicks said she wants to see if the new federal rules decrease infections over the fall and winter before deciding if California should “backfill” any gaps with legislation of its own.
“If the vaccination rates keep ticking up and up and up, maybe there’s no need for anything else,” Wicks said. “I think we have to take a look at what happens over the next couple of months.”
Wicks said if California continues experiencing surges, she’d consider requiring vaccines in workplaces with fewer than 100 employees or mandating the shots for eligible school children.
She referenced the Los Angeles Board of Education’s vote this week to require all students age 12 and over to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by January.
“If you look at what L.A. is doing today, is there a need for statewide policies to support that?” Wicks asked.
Wicks said that her 4-year-old daughter just recently went back to school, but already her family has received several COVID-19 exposure notifications.
“I want her to be safe,” Wicks said. “They should be vaccinated in schools. These are public schools.”
Vaccines required for health care workers
Gov. Gavin Newsom and top public health officials have already announced strong vaccine requirements for health care workers, state employees and teachers.
A group of lawmakers, including Wicks, tried in recent weeks to legislate stronger vaccine mandates for more people as the state grapples with COVID-19 cases spread by the infectious delta variant.
A proposal by Wicks would have ordered people to prove they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering indoor public spaces like restaurants, bars, movie theaters, gyms, hotels and stadiums. It also would have mandated employers to require their employees to show proof of vaccination as a condition of employment, or to submit weekly COVID-19 test results as an alternative.
Wicks said the proposal faltered amid negotiations over how to pay for the testing.
Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, similarly shelved proposed legislation to protect employers who require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Low also said he would wait until January to determine if there’s still a need to run a similar proposal.
“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to,” Low said.
Bill to restrict protests at California vaccine sites
One bill already sitting on Newsom’s desk would limit protests at vaccination sites. The governor has until Oct. 10 to sign the measure.
Sen. Richard Pan, the Sacramento Democrat and pediatrician responsible for that proposal and California’s strict vaccine laws for school children, applauded both Biden and the Los Angeles Board of Education for their latest decisions.
Pan said he wanted to see how “the implementation goes” with not only new federal and state rules, but mask requirements and other COVID-19 safety protocol in schools, before committing himself to another vaccine bill, including one to require shots for kids. He said he’d want to see where COVID-19 hot spots are, and if they’re in schools.
“If lots of outbreaks are happening with kids — and by the way we are having a record number of kids getting hospitalized now with COVID — if that trend line continues, I think we certainly need to consider that,” Pan said. “We’ll see what happens over the fall, and let’s see what’s happening with the vaccine, and then we will evaluate what needs to be done to ensure our kids are safe, to ensure they’re able to learn.”
Any effort to compel the unvaccinated to get the shots would certainly face fierce opposition. During a Wednesday anti-vaccine rally at the Capitol, hundreds of protestors likened vaccine rules to Nazi Germany and “medical tyranny.” They pledged to keep showing up in Sacramento against any proposal to mandate the shots.
A September Public Policy Institute of California poll showed that 61% of adults and 62% of likely voters supported proof of vaccination for large outdoor events and to enter certain indoor spaces.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 3:42 PM with the headline "California Democrats considering more COVID vaccine rules on top of Biden order."