Gov. Wolf mandates vaccination for new hires at state-run health care facilities, prisons

Pennsylvania will mandate covid-19 vaccination for all new hires at state-run health care and congregate care settings, and current employees at those facilities must either get vaccinated or test weekly for the virus, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday.

The mandate will affect around 25,000 employees at state hospitals, state homes for people with intellectual disabilities, veterans homes, community health centers and state prisons. The testing requirements go into effect Sept. 7.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have learned that the covid-19 virus thrives in settings where people live in close proximity such as congregate care. These individuals are often our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians who are unable to leave these facilities and rely on the direct care of the staff,” Wolf said in announcing the plan outside the Dauphin County State Health Center in Harrisburg

He said that as the largest employer in the state, the government should act as an example for other businesses and organizations.

“Businesses are doing this, other states are doing this, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Wolf said. “Everybody wants to make sure we do everything we can to keep people safe in the facilities that the commonwealth operates.”

In addition to what Wolf is calling the “vaccine or test” requirement, all vaccinated state employees will be eligible for an extra paid day off. He also said he is open to the idea of using money from the American Rescue Plan to incentivize residents.

“I am interested, which is why I’m saying to employees of the commonwealth, ‘Get a vaccine, I’ll give you a day off,’” he said, noting that Pennsylvania ranks fairly high in terms of vaccinations even without using cash or other incentives.

The pace of vaccinations has slowed as the summer has worn on, and covid-19 cases have risen as mitigation measures expired and the delta variant spread – not just in Pennsylvania, but across the country. The state Department of Health reported 2,076 new covid cases Tuesday, bringing the running total since the start of the pandemic to 1.2 million. Eleven more deaths were reported, for a total of nearly 28,000.

House Republicans derided the “vaccine or test” requirement.

“The bottom line is the Wolf administration has failed to get Pennsylvania to meet achievable vaccine deployment goals and is now inserting government into private health care decisions and coercing hesitant Pennsylvanians to get the vaccine,” said House Republican Caucus spokesman Jason Gottesman, “which is ultimately a private matter between the individual and their health care provider.”

House Democrats shot back, with the spokesman for the House Democrats referring to the Republicans’ statement as “histrionics” that are “ridiculous and unproductive.”

“These latest steps by (Wolf) make perfect sense,” said spokesman Bill Patton, “and are squarely in the mainstream of what other states are doing.”

The state House passed a bill in late June that bars state, county and local governments and colleges from mandating vaccination. The legislation, which also passed the Senate, was amended to clarify that it would apply to all private colleges and universities as well.

Wolf ultimately vetoed the bill last month, calling it “contradictory, misguided and irresponsible.”

Statewide, providers have administered more than 11.7 million doses of the covid vaccines. Just under 64% of all Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated.