Multnomah County officials are speaking out in favor of vaccine mandates for people who work with the public -- and they say this should include law enforcement officers.
According to Oregon's most populous county, they believe that law enforcement and probation officers should be required to get the vaccine, but they can't mandate it for certain employees because their hands are tied by the state.
Following a mandate from Oregon Governor Kate Brown, ordering healthcare workers and State of Oregon executive branch employees to get their shots, whether or not police officers had to be vaccinated was questioned because of new guidance from the Oregon Health Authority.
The state of Oregon has the authority to require vaccinations of local law enforcement and parole and probation officers, but is choosing not to do so," Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said in a statement on Thursday. "We have asked — and are still asking — the state to require these vaccinations. We are not giving up.
Locally, the City of Portland echoed the same sentiment from the county, that they, too, are only following the guidance from OHA and did not make the decision to exempt police officers from the mandate.
Initially, the city said it believed that Gov. Brown's mandate was broad enough to include police officers, who require some sort of medical training.
In a statement to KATU News, Mayor Ted Wheeler said, in part:
I am disappointed that we can’t hold all of our City employees to the same vaccine requirement... I still am strongly encouraging police officers to get vaccinated. Our City leaders have decided we want to lead by example, and science has proven that vaccines are the most effective tool to end this pandemic. It is critical that we do everything we can to minimize risk to our community members and co-workers. The City will continue to implement its vaccine requirement, but will ensure it is consistent with state law.
KATU News reached out to the governor's office for more clarity earlier this week on who could be exempt from the mandate and who would be covered. The governor's office pointed us to the Oregon Health Authority's FAQs page with updated guidance, which we have embedded at the bottom of this story.
In it, there is a question that asks, "Are police, who have some medical training, or are licensed healthcare providers covered under the rule?"
OHA's guidance said the following:
Probably not. While a police officer may have some medical training, or may even be a licensed health care provider, it is likely not a fundamental part of their job to provide direct or indirect medical care in a healthcare setting. If a police officer has a job that by definition requires them to provide medical care to individuals, then the rule likely does apply.
For the FAQs from the state's health authority on who is covered under a vaccine mandate, see below:
KATU has also reached out to the governor's office for comment on Multnomah County and City of Portland's statements, the office said they are not considering any additional vaccine requirements for county or city workers but that President Biden's new requirements might change things.
Biden announced on Thursday that employers with more than 100 employees will have to require them to be vaccinated or tested weekly. The governor's office said it is still waiting to see how this will be applied to cities and counties.