Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

September 29, 2021

Interim data shows 60% of executive branch workers say they’re fully vaccinated; number expected to climb as more paperwork is processed

Yehyun Kim | CT Mirror Patricia Miglowiec, a registered nurse, prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the Torrington Area Health District.
By Zachary Vasile

About 60% of state executive branch employees have reported they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, state officials said Thursday, and that number is expected to rise in the coming days as workers rush to submit paperwork showing they are in compliance with Gov. Ned Lamont’s order that all Connecticut public employees receive immunizations, submit to weekly testing or file for an exemption.

At a press conference at the Capitol, Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer and commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, said 70% of executive branch employees have so far returned a questionnaire seeking details about their vaccination status. Roughly 60%, which translates to around 19,000 workers out of 32,000, said they are fully vaccinated, while 10%, or around 3,000, said they plan to comply by being tested for the coronavirus on a weekly basis.

The deadline for all state employees to respond to the questionnaire was Monday, but because the state is still processing so much paperwork, the cutoff has been pushed back to Oct. 4, Geballe said.

The department is hopeful that the number of people still not in compliance with the governor’s order by Monday will be “relatively small,” he added.

Those who are not in compliance could be placed on unpaid leave as soon as Tuesday, Oct. 5, though there could be some lag because so many completed questionnaires will be under review by that time. State officials did not discuss further punitive measures.

“The initial step, and the only one we’re talking about at this point, is people being placed on unpaid leave,” Geballe said.

Lamont said the numbers give him confidence that public sector workers are taking his order seriously. He also pointed to similar mandates in New York, which he said were largely successful in encouraging government employees to get vaccinated.

“I’m optimistic,” the governor said.

When asked about teachers and health care workers who have so far resisted getting vaccines and are now concerned about possibly losing their jobs, Lamont said the mandate is necessary to reduce the likelihood of another surge capable of closing schools and businesses.

“There will be some people who say ‘Hell no’,” he said. “And I’m sorry but that means you’re not safe. Not safe to the people around you and not safe to the people you’re treating. And that means they cannot come in to work.”

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF