Credit: PA Internet News Service
The county government did not have to fire any employees due to its COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
On Wednesday, Bucks County officials released data that 91 percent of the 2,555 employees paid through the local government reported being vaccinated. A total of 211 exemptions were requested for medial or religious reasons.
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In a statement, officials said those who received exemptions will be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.
“Vaccination status is pending for 21 employees, such as those on extended leave, whose present circumstances do not immediately require vaccination or an exemption,” the statement read.
No county workers had to be fired for not complying with the mandate.
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James O’Malley, a county spokesman, was unable to state whether any employees quit because of the mandate.
Workers in county government have told LevittownNow.com a handful of employees are known to have left their jobs because of the mandate.
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The county’s recent head of military and veterans affairs, Dan Fraley, told the Bucks County Courier Times his recent retirement was partly triggered by the county’s vaccine mandate. Additionally, he stated he planned to get the vaccine despite his objection to the mandate.
Rumors of potential impacts to public services run by county government – like prison staff and dispatchers – due to the mandate were unfounded, according to several sources in county government. O’Malley said he is unaware of any staffing shortages related to the vaccine requirement.
County and court staff had until Friday, October 29 to get vaccinated.
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The county previously mandated vaccinations for staff at the Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home and the Bucks County Department of Corrections.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“As we’ve seen around the country, vaccine mandates not only work, but set a good example,” Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, said. “For the commissioners and the county workforce, it is a privilege to serve our community, and it is our duty to keep our residents safe.
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“We are immensely proud that 91 percent of our county staff got fully vaccinated,” she added. “If we could hit those numbers with the rest of the population, we’d be out of this pandemic and back to normal.”
O’Malley said that the county is verifying vaccination information submitted by employees.
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Row offices are included in the county’s vaccination statistics.
Bucks County Sheriff Milt Warrell, a Democrat, declined to require vaccinations for his employees. He cited the Pennsylvania County Code to support his policy that row officers had the ability to make rules for employees, even though they are paid through the county treasury.
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The county didn’t break down vaccination exemption numbers by department or row office.
The county’s vaccinated workers have been granted a day off of work and a gift card.
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