FOX 2

St. Louis County Council considers vaccine requirement for county workers

CLAYTON, Mo. – St. Louis County employees could soon be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The county council is expected to discuss that issue at a meeting Tuesday evening. 

The council convened earlier in the afternoon as a Committee of the Whole prior to the scheduled 6:30 p.m. meeting.

The proposed legislation would require county employees and contractors to be vaccinated or else wear a mask and submit to regular COVID-19 testing. The bill is up for first-round consideration at the full council meeting.

The bill’s sponsor, Councilwoman Shalonda Webb (4th District), says her effort is aimed at boosting vaccination rates in the county.

“The bill puts forth if you’re not vaccinated that you would get tested every two weeks. The reason we want to do that is it’s going to help if, God forbid, but if something was to happen and you would get infected, it could narrow down the contact tracing,” Webb said.

Christine Porter, who says she works as a nurse at a private health care clinic, testified before the committee in opposition to the proposal.

“It is horrific to think managers are being told to bully and coerce employees into getting an experimental medical procedure,” Porter said.

A growing number of private and public employers, including St. Louis City, have mandated vaccines for employees.