176 Seattle first responders wait for vaccine exemptions

SEATTLE (AP) – Approximately 176 Seattle police and firefighters are unable to report for work as the city’s COVID-19 mandate has come into effect and employees are waiting for possible housing to keep their jobs without vaccines. according to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office.

The city bragged that 99% of its 11,000 or so employees met requirements as of Monday’s cut-off date, but 5% of those employees applied for or received a religious or medical exemption from the vaccine, the Seattle Times reported.

A total of 103 sworn and civilian employees of the Seattle Police Department requested either medical or religious exemption, and six more have “entered the separation process,” police said. The six who are separated for non-compliance are sworn officers.

Of those on leave, 93 are sworn officers who were not allowed to report to work on Tuesday and are likely to be absent for several weeks, said Durkan chief of staff Stephanie Formas.

According to Formas, the city expects it will take four to six weeks for the city and employees to process the exception requests.

“As we work to achieve 100 percent vaccination compliance within the Seattle Police Department, there may be some impact on our level of service, especially given our staff loss over the past two years,” a statement from police officers said Tuesday .

“To this end, the department has developed a number of plans to provide the best possible service, including adding patrol personnel first with Community Response Group officers before asking detectives and other unauthorized personnel to return to the streets.” “

Likewise, 93% of the Seattle Fire Department are fully vaccinated, and 66 employees are going through the vaccination and housing process. They are on leave “until the placement process is complete or a member decides to have a full vaccination,” according to a statement from the department.

Another 11 employees of the fire brigade have neither submitted proof of vaccination nor applied for an exemption and are about to be dismissed.

For unionized employees in each department, the termination process allows employees to request and receive a voluntary hearing to contact HR and department management.

In the statement, fire officers said they did not expect staff to interfere with first aid measures.

According to the mayor’s office, some departments are 100% vaccinated. Others face similar exceptions, including Seattle City Light with 84 exceptions, Seattle Public Utilities with 72 exceptions, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation with 47 exceptions, and the Seattle Department of Transportation with 35 exceptions.

The city was unable to provide information on resignations in connection with the mandate.

In King County, where Executive Dow Constantine enacted the same requirement and deadline, 92.3% of the 14,000+ employees covered by the mandate are fully vaccinated, but over 1,000 are requesting an exemption or have failed to adhere to it.