Upholding the county's mission

To the Editor:

Regarding the article, “Tuolumne County employees may need to get vaccinated or tested”, Supervisors Campbell, Brandon and Goldemberg support this policy; Kirk and Haff do not. Kirk feels it violates people's rights despite the fact that courts have determined it is not a violation of anyone's rights. Haff says government shouldn't legislate what to do with our bodies, despite county counsel's correct advice that the county can choose to require that employees be vaccinated.

Kudos to Campbell, Brandon and Goldemberg for beginning to uphold the county mission, “We commit to providing exceptional public service that protects the health and safety of our citizens and enhances the quality of our rural life.” Exceptional service would have been enforcing masking in all county buildings by employees and the public early in 2020 and requiring staff vaccinations earlier this year when they became available.

Vaccination and testing help protect community health by limiting the spread of COVID and reducing the severity and hospitalizations, if infected.

The delta variant, which is more contagious and severe than the previous strain, is spreading at an alarming rate due to relaxed prevention measures, low vaccination rate and its own infectious nature.

We conclude that the status quo is insufficient to protect public health. The county supervisors must take immediate action in minimizing the spread of COVID by adopting these practices to help protect public health.

Kirk and Haff are irresponsible for shunning these common sense practices. They need to re-evaluate their pledge to serve the community by putting aside their personal views in favor of integrity and thoughtfulness in decision-making. Increasing vaccination, testing and enforcing masking are reasonable actions that must be adopted to protect the health and safety of all.

Donna Elias

Sonora