“Public safety of San Francisco has turned into the Wild West and will get worse when officers quit due to the vaccine mandate.”Union President Ken Lomba said he’s threats of resigning or retiring early because of the mandatory vaccine policy “from a large group within our membership.”
Officials with the city’s Department of Human Resources issued a Friday statement sharply denouncing the union’s stance, particularly in light of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.
“There is also an undue and unacceptable health and safety risk that is imposed upon the city, our employees and the public we serve, by those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19,” officials said. “Vaccines are safe, effective and readily available to our employees.”
City employees may be granted an exemption from the vaccine for medical or religious reasons.
Out of 3,000 San Franciscans who have been hospitalized with COVID-19, only 16 came from “breakthrough” cases, health officials said last week. There have been no deaths among the fully vaccinated in San Francisco.
As of Friday there were at least 161 unvaccinated employees at the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, or about 16% of the agency’s workforce, according to city data.
That’s more than double the 7.7% average unvaccinated rate across all city departments, data shows.
Lomba said there’s no unifying reason for the deputies’ refusal to become inoculated. Some are concerned about medical risks, others take exception on religious ground and still others simply believe they don’t need it.
“We are all for COVID-19 safety and we back that,” Lomda said. “Our problem is how this is mandate — ‘vaccinate or you’ll be terminated,’ is really going to impact our staffing, which is going to impact public safety in San Francisco.”
Good. This will separate the rational cops from the Trumpers. Because I think we know that those who refuse are wingnuts who shouldn’t be wearing the badge.
Honestly, this is insanely stupid but it does have a silver lining. It reveals the people who should not be working in public service. And frankly, health care. Nurses and others who refuse to get vaccinated should also find another line of work.