MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – Muskegon County will not require any vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine, or medical tests for its employees as the result of a “resolution to promote general welfare” the board of commissioners approved Tuesday.
The resolution, brought to the board by Republican Commissioner Malinda Pego, passed on a 5-4 vote. Democratic Commissioner Rillastine Wilkins joined most Republicans in voting for the resolution.
The resolution also states the county “shall NOT question any persons (cq) claim, or parents’ claim on behalf of their children, to exemption from wearing a facemask or any other similarly mandated activity.”
The vote on Tuesday, Sept. 14, followed emotional statements from audience members and commissioners on both sides of the issue. Some called the resolution “heartless,” “selfish” and “nonsense,” while others said it protects their “freedoms and liberties.”
“I encourage you to pass this resolution because it will show that you value our individual uniqueness and that we are intelligent enough to make our own decisions along with our health care providers,” citizen Michelle Hazekamp told commissioners before their vote.
In addition to Pego and Wilkins, the resolution was supported by Republicans Kim Cyr, Doug Brown and Zach Lahring. Voting against it were Democrats Susie Hughes, Charles Nash and Marcia Hovey-Wright and Republican board Chair Bob Scolnik.
The resolution references Muskegon County residents’ “sacred inalienable right to make autonomous choices about their own health” as “essential to securing the general Welfare and securing the Blessings of Liberty.”
The resolution, which refers to the pandemic as “the COVID situation,” states that “Muskegon County messaging henceforth related to vaccines shall encourage the people to discuss the risks and benefits of any such treatment with their chosen healthcare provider.”
It also states that the county will not require “any form of vaccine or similar medical treatment, verification or medical test verification” of any employee, prospective employee or contractor.
Commissioners who voted for the resolution didn’t speak directly in favor of it, though Cyr said he believed a shortage of nurses was due to them not wanting “to take the shot” and Lahring argued passionately about not “strangling” school children with mask mandates and said masks only protect the wearers and not those around them.
Pego read the resolution during her time to speak, but didn’t argue for a yes vote. Rather, she noted it was “flu and virus” season between October and March.
“I do recommend, though I’m not a doctor, through common sense – though most of you have thrown that out the window – to load up on your vitamin C, your elderberry, your zinc and your (vitamin) D3,” Pego said.
Audience members were more forceful in their arguments for the resolution.
Lorette Roberts noted that she works at Mercy Health where the COVID vaccine has been mandated for employees. She said she went through “incredible emotional, physical and spiritual duress and tumult” over the hospital system’s mandate and that she likely will leave her job to work for a chili dog restaurant.
“I will not be part of a system that will continually impinge on my freedom as a human being,” she said.
Resident Karen Palmer claimed the federal Centers for Disease Control have committed “fraud” by releasing “falsified data” about COVID. She also noted people survive COVID and that it doesn’t pose “a problem with the children.”
Her comment was in response to some made by audience members who opposed Pego’s resolution.
Josie James said the “heartless” resolution would leave unprotected children “who can and … do die from this virus.”
“Our children are born and come through us but they’re not ours,” James said. “They’re our future and you have no right to try and make decisions that will harm the children just for your own selfish political gains.”
Lynn Frisinger Stribley, a retired English teacher, called the wording of the resolution “drivel” and said its content was “overreach and nonsense.”
“It should be titled a resolution to interfere with general welfare,” she said.
Commissioners opposed to the resolution also spoke forcefully.
Nash said he was “really embarrassed with this board,” noting it had voted down a resolution supporting the declaration of September as “National Recovery Month” in support of those battling addictions.
“People say they’re tired of COVID -- let’s do something about it,” Nash said. “We have kids who cannot get a vaccine... We’re not talking about strangling them with a mask. We’re talking about protecting them with a mask. You don’t want to do that? Then home school. That’s fine. You’ve got a choice.”
Hovey-Wright asked “are your rights more important than somebody’s life?”
“Leaving it up to personal choice has not worked thanks to efforts like this resolution,” Hovey-Wright said. “I don’t understand why there are people who deny this reality and believe crazy things about the so-called risks of wearing masks and getting vaccinated. The risks of COVID are so much worse.”
She also noted that the county’s resolution lacks muscle because it won’t hold up against federal mandates.
Pego initially wanted the resolution sent to all county commissioners “or their equivalents” in counties across the nation. She agreed to pull that after commissioners earlier pointed out it could be a daunting task to find contact information for all commissioners in all 50 states.
Instead, the resolution will go the governor, state Sen. Jon Bumstead; state Rep. Terry Sabo, state Rep. Greg VanWoerkom, the state Senate and House, Michigan Association of Counties and every county clerk in the state.
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