'Hundreds' of Massachusetts State Police face being fired over vaccine mandate

[TexasTowelie]

A group of State Police troopers and commanders have hired a Boston law firm as “hundreds” in the agency face being fired for not taking the coronavirus vaccine.

A source told the Herald more than 300 troopers, sergeants, lieutenants, detective lieutenants, captains and staff are in that group and some have already caught COVID, giving them the antibodies. But that won’t help them come Oct. 17 when the vaccine mandate goes on the books.

“This has been my whole life. I’ve been a loyal cop,” the source said. “But unlike Boston Police and others, we don’t have a testing option.”

Gov. Charlie Baker instituted a vaccine mandate for all Executive Branch employees Aug. 19, including all troopers, with a deadline of Oct. 17 to be fully vaccinated. The order only granted exemptions for those who have medical or religious grounds to reject the vaccine.

Read more: https://www.lowellsun.com/2021/10/07/hundreds-of-massachusetts-state-police-face-being-fired-over-vaccine-mandate/

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. I am of the opinion that for critical public health and safety workers/officers, proof of having had

COVID previously should be enough to qualify as vaccination would.

I know it's not 'as good' but it's pretty good. Having had it, and being vaccinated is better, of course.

But this is not a good look. And we're going to drive a TON of cops and military and health-care workers into the arms of the far right if we're inflexible like this.

Or at LEAST a testing option.

MHO.

[Biophilic]

2. If they are refusing to get vaccinated they probably already are part of the far right.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. Probably a large % yes, but it may well also entrench them further into the proverbial bosom

when you take away their means to provide for themselves and families.

Doing it with a lot of cops, firemen, pilots (most of whom ... served) and others like that ... is a pretty risky proposition for our society, divided as it is at this time.

MHO.

[NH Ethylene]

9. The mandate is adding fuel to the fire.

I am very worried about what is going to happen to our democracy if the Trumpians take over in 2024. The vaccine mandate is the perfect 'wedge issue' for them.

And right now, having a lot of right-wingers angry and out of work is dangerous. It could increase domestic terrorism activity.

[samplegirl]

5. No probably about it.

[Phoenix61]

3. Nope. If they can't/won't follow orders they need to

find another line of work, especially law enforcement. Previous infection with covid doesn’t provide the same level of immunity. What gives them the right to possibly infect members of the pubic or their co-workers for that matter? My guess is when they lose their case, and they will, most will roll up their sleeve and get the vaccine. Good riddance to those who won’t.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. We're allowing for regular testing to substitute in a great many cases ...

And I would bet that carries similar risk as letting previous covid stand-in for vaccination, quite possibly more, unless testing is daily.

There's actually pretty solid evidence that previous covid helps a lot.

Do you remember what a mistake it was universally regarded as being when we invaded Iraq ... and straight-up fired the entire military?

It's not a perfect analogy of course, but ... it's along the lines of what my concern is here.

[Phoenix61]

10. It's a very poor analogy.

The FBI reported in 2006 that white supremacists were trying to infiltrate law enforcement. The vaccine mandate seems to be a great way to weed them out. It’s definitely an unintended consequence but a very welcome one.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. Everyone who's vaccine-hesitant is not a white supremacist.

My ex-wife is pretty smart, and liberal on 90% of issues, but isn't getting the vaccine cause she had covid already, and she's 'worried about what she's read about the vaccine'.

If you won't accept 'previous covid' like you would a vaccine, how about a mandated daily testing option for critical public safety workers? Many places are doing so. Just not this place, per the article.

[thucythucy]

16. Who pays for the testing?

And would it be done on the job (during taxpayer funded time) or at home?

And who pays for the administrators who have to keep track of who has or has not been tested that particular day? Hire more administrators, or take people off their regular jobs to placate the anti-vaxxers?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

17. It's being done in many places, so ... how they're already doing it ...

How about we do it that way ... here?

Or how about this. The testing costs come from the workers paycheck, and you're required to be at work 15 minutes early every day for the testing, and it's an unpaid 15 minutes.

The administrator keeping track can be paid with taxpayer money, just like everyone else at that job location. I have no problem with my tax money being used that way.

Given that like 1/5 positive COVID tests are from vaccinated people, daily testing probably provides even more protection than vaccine mandates as long as it's diligently done.

[thucythucy]

22. Not sure how you can say that testing provides "even more protection" than mandatory vaccines.

If "1/5 positive Covid tests are from vaccinated people," that would mean 4/5 are from unvaccinated people. Get them vaccinated and we potentially lower the rate of positives by 80 percent. Not to mention also dramatically lowering hospitalizations and deaths. I favor testing, absolutely, but not as a substitute for vaccination.

And I do have a problem with extra tax money being spent to placate people who continue to put the rest of us at risk, especially since the unvaccinated are already soaking up billions in health care dollars at the expense of the rest of us.

These mandates should have been imposed months ago. Instead, we were told to "give it time" to allow the "vaccine hesitant" to come to their senses and do the right thing. What has happened instead is that many of them have doubled down on their nonsense, while additional tens of thousands suffer and die.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

23. If everyone is tested daily at day start, nobody works 'sick'

Nobody gives COVID to a co-worker, a customer, etc ... while they're at work.

You can still get COVID when you're vaccinated. So with only a vaccine mandate, but not the daily tests, you can still have people come to work 'sick' and infect others.

That's what I'm talking about. IN the workplace specifically, daily testing is probably even greater protection for a person's co-workers and the public vs. vaccine mandates. Doesn't keep the actual worker safe from contracting the sickness, but that's their decision.

Look I hate these idiots as much as the next person and I'd love to 'stick it to them' for being stupid. But I still think that if concessions are possible that are not too egregious, they probably should be made for important public health and safety workers.

[Phoenix61]

20. I think it's appropriate to hold those in some

professions to higher standards, law enforcement being at the top of that list. While all of those who are “vaccine hesitant” may not be white supremacists I’m willing to bet most white supremacists fall into the never going to get the vaccine camp.

[paleotn]

8. Research shows it's not good enough. Not nearly good enough with respect to Covid.

And after only months, it may have zero efficacy. It's an excuse used by those who are already in the arms of the Reich Wing. They need to stop whining and get the goddamn shot.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

11. I hear ya, but at a certain point I think we need to consider how many people may become radicalized

If this process is done in a heavy-handed and inflexible ways.

People with guns who are used to being in a position of authority, like we're talking about here ... they're all going to become Oath Keepers and crap like that. SOME ARE ALREADY, okay, yes. But a lot of them will join those kinds of outfits as a result of firings like this.

We at least should give these people a daily-testing option. Not just because we're scared of them but also because they perform a critical public safety job.

MHO.

[paleotn]

13. I get it. I just wish we could all be logical about this, including those on the right.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

14. If you really think about it, mandatory daily testing might even be better

than vaccine mandates.

As long as it's DONE the minute everyone walks in the door, every time. And of course, people are sent home for a positive.

It's actually a reasonable compromise and should work very well, again as long as it's done.

And of course, YES, I wish people would stop being idiots as well

[paleotn]

7. Ugh. Not the "natural immunity" crap again.

What complete wimps. Just get the damn shot. What's colloquially called natural immunity is a messy process, short lived much of the time and not always effective depending on the pathogen. Thus, the use of the word immunity is a misnomer. It's a matter of probabilities for reinfection, not immunity as they're thinking of the word. Vaccines are targeted, vastly more effective and factors of 10 safer than driving to the grocery. Humans. Ugh.

[NoMoreRepugs]

15. They "protect" the public, how do they do that being unvaccinated? Gonna get

tested daily?? Hit the bricks bozos and find another job.

[3Hotdogs]

18. Regarding the medical/religious testing example...

So trooper Dillwad gets tested Monday morning. He gets infected Monday evening at the local Oath Keeper's gathering. Everyone else, including people he arrests, gets exposed on Tuesday.

Fuck the testing exemption. If you ain't vaccinated, enjoy your unpaid leave.

[3Hotdogs]

19. Regarding the medical/religious testing example...

So trooper Dillwad gets tested Monday morning. He gets infected Monday evening at the local Oath Keeper's gathering. Everyone else, including people he arrests, gets exposed on Tuesday.

Fuck the testing exemption. If you ain't vaccinated, enjoy your unpaid leave. You can use your time to listen to Rush's re-runs on YouTube.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

21. Get rid of these idiots who are too stupid to get vaccinated