New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Lamont readies National Guard for staff shortages
Issues may follow vaccine deadline
Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the Connecticut National Guard to prepare to be activated early next week as the state anticipates staff shortages from workers unwilling to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Lamont has informed the heads of the state agencies to prepare for staff shortages as the deadline to submit proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing looms. State officials said employees have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday.
“I continue to remain optimistic that our employees will submit their testing and vaccination information quickly,” Lamont said in a statement Thursday. “But as we have done throughout the pandemic, we will prepare for the worst to prevent impacts to the critical services the state provides. The health and safety of our employees and the people of Connecticut remain our top priority.”
As of Thursday afternoon, 8,000 state employees were still in noncompliant status, meaning they had not provided proof of vaccination or have started weekly testing. Lamont’s office said that number has dropped by about 2,000 employees in the past two days.
Those who are noncompliant as of the deadline could be placed on unpaid leave as early as Tuesday, but no later than Oct. 11, officials said.
While those 8,000 employees are are noncompliant represent 25 percent of the workforce, about 75 percent have already subis
mitted proof of a vaccine or started testing, Lamont’s office said.
Lamont has instructed Maj. Gen. Francis Evon, head of the state’s national guard, to prepare for an activation. Where possible, national guard soldiers will fill critical positions until replacement employees are found or employees come into compliance, according to Lamont’s office.
“We have provided most state employees with the option to get tested weekly instead of getting vaccinated, providing more flexibility than our neighboring states,” Lamont said Thursday. “We have also provided our employees with a compliance grace period. There
no reason all our employees should not be in compliance. I continue to count on state employees to lead by example and to respect their co-workers and the public by complying with this executive order, which is the law.”
Lamont issued a mandate that state employees working under the executive branch get vaccinated by Sept. 27, but postponed the deadline while officials worked to get a clearer picture of who still had not received a vaccine.
“Look, there will be some people who say ‘hell no,’ and I’m sorry, but that means you’re not safe, you’re not safe to the people around you and you’re not
safe to the people you’re treating and they cannot come into work,” Lamont said Wednesday when the deadline was pushed back to Monday. “Connecticut, for the last year, has always done the right thing. And we have done it with some pushing, we’ve done it with some explanation and I think Connecticut and our employees are always going to do the right thing.”
The mandate was established, officials said, in an effort to defend against COVID-19 infections and the spread of the delta variant, which is more infectious than the native strain of the virus that started the pandemic in March 2020.