Mandatory vaccination for Wareham first responders, employees gets rebuff

WAREHAM – Should town employees, particularly first responders, be required to get vaccinated?

That was the discussion during Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting and while it seemed like a no-brainer to health officials, union representatives seemed adamantly opposed, and said the town stood to lose employees that won’t be easily replaced if a mandate is set in place.

Board of Health Chair Amy Wiegandt, who is a doctor, said first responders were particularly susceptible to exposure to COVID or transmitting it since they’re in the front lines with the public.

She estimated that town public safety departments had vaccination rates from 50% to 70%, but not 100%. The town’s vaccination rate is under 52%.

She noted that people joining the armed services must be vaccinated to protect others, and that children need vaccinations to attend school.

The town’s been averaging 60-80 weekly cases in the past couple of months, with 70% to 80% of them being unvaccinated.

She added there were very few reasons not to get vaccinated, and that it was safe from a medical perspective.

Board of Health member Catherine Phinney, who is a registered nurse, noted there are side effects to many things – including to aspirin – side effects that might give someone pause if they were to read the label.

She said a family member came down with COVID before vaccination was available, and was on a ventilator for three weeks, suffered a bed sore, had subsequent surgeries, and will deal with chronic back pain for the foreseeable future.

She added that the hospital bills that will come due for COVID sufferers can also bankrupt a person.

Deanna Semple, president of the Wareham Education Association, questioned whether the low vaccination rate in town was accurate, though, if it didn’t include people who have already had COVID. They’re less likely to get it again, she said.

“Natural immunity is not a vaccination,” Wiegandt said.

“But the end result is the same,” Semple said.

“No, it’s not.” Wiegandt said there are people who contract COVID twice. Immunity is also longer with vaccination, according to the CDC.

Semple said, “But as you know, though, there have been many people having the COVID vaccination who have gotten sick to your point so I don’t know where you’re going with this.”

Semple added, “You want to mandate a vaccine because you think it’s going to keep everybody safe. I don’t have any problem with the vaccine. It might work. It might not. It might kill you. It might not.  My problem is when you use the word mandate, that’s a big problem for me and a lot of people who need their jobs and they have to pick their health over their jobs.”

She asked what option was available for people who chose not to be vaccinated.

Wiegandt said they weren’t looking at specific options right now but trying to discuss the issue and “hear everybody.”

Wiegandt added, “Vaccines do keep people safe. There have been less deaths with people who are vaccinated whereas the death rate for people with COVID is approximately 2% if you haven’t been vaccinated.”

She said children with the new Delta variant, which is prevalent now, are getting sick and dying, too.

Wareham Police Lt. John Gerard is president of the Wareham superior officers’ union. He said, ‘If I get vaccinated, or someone gets vaccinated, you still have the ability to spread COVID, correct?”

Weigandt said it could still be spread, but to a much lower degree, and those vaccinated are 90 percent less likely to get it if exposed.

Say there’s a wedding party involving 100 people, she said, and the server has COVID but the symptoms haven’t shown yet. With 100% percent vaccination, five or 10 people might get COVID. With no vaccination, 50 to 80 people in the room could.

Overall, if you succeed in getting 80 percent of the people vaccinated, she added, “you may have immunity for that group and you’re going to have a lot less out there, so you can’t look at this as an individual, personal thing.”

She said, “If we get herd immunity, we’ll get a lot less COVID.”

Gerard said mandatory vaccination would have to be bargained with the unions.

He added that the department couldn’t afford to lose any officers, and that a lot of people were concerned with the vaccine, which is still new.

“We are already short-staffed. We will lose people and they will go to a non-Civil Service town.”

And, he said, 3.6% of people are reporting adverse reaction to the vaccination, according to a medical website.

“Forcing stuff onto people isn’t the way to go,” Gerard said.

“The side effects are much less than the side effects we are seeing from people who get COVID, which include a lot of long-term side effects,” Wiegandt said.

Marie Ferreira, representing school bus drivers and aides, said she had been vaccinated but didn’t feel it should be mandated, nor did other bus drivers. The nation has a shortage of school bus drivers at present, she added.

“This is all in the testing phase,” she said. “People don’t want to be guinea pigs.” She said the drivers who feared vaccination would find work elsewhere. “I don’t know how you’re going to get the kids to school.”

Ferreira added, “I’m really glad you’re having a discussion with the unions. We really need to think hard about this mandate.”

Bus driver Tonya Johnson said she “would no longer work for Wareham” if told she had to get the vaccine.

Wareham Officer Eric Machado represented the Wareham patrolmen’s union.

He said, “The people who choose not to get the vaccine are some of the most well-educated people,” and have researched the issue.

As far as first responders, he said, they have wrestled with and made the decision whether to get vaccinated or not.

He added, “I honestly can speak for my union members and my department that they will still be there regardless of whether they choose to be vaccinated or unvaccinated.”

And, he agreed with Gerard on the bargaining aspect, saying a mandate would “create a nightmare for bargaining units within the town. It will put a tremendous financial burden on the town.”

Wiegandt said at the meeting’s close that there was sure to be more discussion on what was right for Wareham.

She also urged people to get vaccinated in any case, saying, “It’s safer to be vaccinated than not to be vaccinated. COVID is a pretty scary disease.”