Mandating vaccination is important

ON (SEPT. 28), at the meeting of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners, the commission took no action on a written request from a member of the public — me — to put on its agenda the issue of mandating COVID-19 vaccination for commission employees. The commission’s failure to act was disappointing.

The two commissioners who spoke and the county manager all agreed that the vaccine is safe and effective. They and their children got their shots. Yet, not a single commissioner of the four present responded favorably to my proposal to require commission employees to be vaccinated, protecting themselves, their fellow employees and members of the public.

Commissioner (Steven Michael) Quezada said mandating shots was something the feds or the state should do, not the commission, because “we’re a drop in the bucket.” In fact, the feds and state have mandated vaccination shots, and the federal mandate includes private companies with over 100 employees. The county has 2,600 employees. He stated that vaccinations shouldn’t be mandated because some of the employees might have medical conditions, but, of course, none of the vaccine mandates force a person to take the shot if they have a medical condition that prohibits it. I was not given the chance to respond to these points.

There is no doubt that vaccine mandates work. Good examples abound: hospital systems, airlines and many universities, including UNM. When people are faced with losing their job or taking frequent COVID tests, almost all of them get the shot.

Commissioners have a duty to protect the health and safety of the public they were elected to serve, and mandating vaccinations is the best way to do that.

BOB CARROLL

Albuquerque