Montgomery County requires employees to be vaccinated as virus surges

August 27, 2021 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized

By Jenna Portnoy and Rebecca Tan August 25, 2021 at 7:21 p.m. EDT22 Washington Post

Montgomery County announced Wednesday that it is requiring county employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or get tested regularly, the latest area government to impose such a mandate for their workers amid a surge of new cases mostly infecting the unvaccinated.

All county government employees will have to submit proof of vaccination by Sept. 18 or face having to take regular coronavirus tests, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said in a news conference Wednesday.

The move comes several weeks after Virginia and Maryland announced similar requirements for state employees, and as the greater Washington region — and the nation — continues to see a dramatic increase in infections and hospitalizations due to the highly contagious delta variant.

The weekly average number of cases per 100,000 residents is up most starkly in the region in Virginia, where the figure reached 32 as of Wednesday, compared with six a month ago. In D.C., the figure was 24 as of Wednesday and seven a month ago, and Maryland was at 17 as of Wednesday compared with four a month ago, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Tracking coronavirus deaths, cases and vaccinations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Hospitalizations are up, too, with 1,376 covid-19 patients hospitalized in Virginia compared with 400 a month ago. In Maryland, the number is 849, compared with 318 in late July, and in D.C., it was 143 vs. 52 a month ago, federal data shows.

Hospitals have not yet reached capacity but are experiencing a surge in demand. The last time this many people were hospitalized in D.C. and Maryland was in May, but hospitals there still have fewer covid-19 patients than they did at the peak of the pandemic in December and January. Virginia last reached today’s numbers in March.

The delta variant has increased to 98 percent of positive samples analyzed in the region that includes Virginia, Maryland and D.C., which is on par with the U.S. average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health officials have said vaccines are their best tool against the pandemic, and more governments and private employers are issuing mandates requiring their employees to get vaccinated.

Elrich said county officials had been in negotiations with union leaders for several weeks and agreed on final details for the vaccination-or-testing requirement this week.

We’re taking your questions on returning to school amid the delta variant

Now that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has full federal approval, he urged other employers and businesses in the county to require vaccinations among staff or patrons, adding that he thinks it can serve as a strong incentive to the segment of the county’s 1 million eligible residents who have yet to get a shot.

Sixty-six percent of Montgomery County residents are fully vaccinated — the second most in the state, behind only Howard County, which has 70 percent. About 50 percent are fully vaccinated in Prince George’s County, and 58 percent are in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County, state data shows.

According to The Post’s tracker, about 57 percent of D.C. and Virginia residents are fully vaccinated compared with 61 percent of Maryland residents.

Across the nation and region, however, the vast majority of infections, hospitalizations and deaths are occurring in the unvaccinated.

“It’s the unvaccinated people who stand as our largest obstacle to getting back to normal,” Elrich said.

Coronavirus infections in Montgomery have climbed in recent weeks, with a seven-day average of 140 on Wednesday, compared with a low of six in June. But Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles said it’s noteworthy that covid-related hospitalizations and deaths have not surged to the same extent as cases.

“This is encouraging news that hopefully we’ll be able to blunt the impact of the delta variant,” Gayles said.

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The Loudoun County Health Department and public schools will open a new vaccination site at Sterling Elementary School on Sept. 4. It will be open every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment for now. Vaccinations are open to anyone 12 or older and are free.

The new location replaces the site at the Dulles Town Center, which will close permanently on Sept. 3.

“We are committed to being a COVID-19 vaccine provider for those unable to obtain vaccine through their medical provider or neighborhood pharmacy,” said Loudoun County Health Director David Goodfriend.

In another sign the virus surge is driving outbreaks, the Virginia Department of Health on Wednesday reinstated regular reporting of coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes, camps, day-care centers and pre-K, as well as schools including K-12, colleges and universities. The dashboard names the facility and the number of cases and deaths.

The biggest outbreak in the state is at an assisted-living facility in Halifax, where there have been 40 cases and at least one death, state data shows. There are multiple smaller outbreaks in Henrico and Chesterfield counties outside Richmond, and Hampton and Chesapeake in the Hampton Roads region.

Antonio Olivo and Jacqueline Dupree contributed to this report.

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