Sedgwick County commissioners voted Wednesday to go along with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, as required by the federal government, but some commissioners voiced reservations over the decision.
The mandate requires health care and COMCARE workers for the county to be vaccinated by February 28th. The mandate does not apply to fire and EMS workers, and it would not apply to people working remotely.
Commissioner Jim Howell said he is vaccinated and is not against the vaccine, but he doesn’t like the mandate and he doesn’t want to see a county employee terminated for not getting the vaccine. He and Commission Chairman David Dennis said if a health care worker refuses the vaccine, another position should be found for them in county government. Howell said he wants to work with employees as much as possible, saying the county has a huge deficit of people already.
Howell pointed out that the county could lose close to $12 million in funding from Medicare and Medicaid if the mandate isn’t followed, and that would lead to a reduction in services needed by the community.
Commissioners voted 5-0 for the mandate.
