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“Disingenuous”? Police union prez Cotto, at right, confronts Elicker after announcement.
All city employees will either have to get a Covid-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing for the coronavirus by the end of September, Mayor Justin Elicker announced Friday.
Elicker issued an executive order requiring employees to take one of those two actions as of Sept. 27.
The city’s approximately 4,000 education employees will already have to get vaccinated or receive medical or religious exemptions and then get tested, under an order issued last week by Gov. Ned Lamont.
Elicker’s new order affects the other approximately 2,000 city employees. Call it a “lite” version of the Lamont order: Anyone can opt out of the vaccine directive, without seeking a religious or medical exemption.
If employees still refuse to comply, they face discipline. What kind of discipline will be determined in upcoming talks between the administration and municipal unions.
“We are not looking to use this mandate as a means of disciplining employees,” city Corporation Counsel Patricia King said at a Friday afternoon press conference held behind City Hall to announce the policy. If someone is refusing to get tested or vaccinated, a supervisor will first work with them to discuss about where to get the test or any other concerns.
Ultimately, though, “We expect employees to abide by this policy,” Elicker said. “We will hold people accountable.”
The city will set up a testing spot just for city employees in addition to existing places available to the general public.
The mayor said his administration took a little extra time to craft its policy, compared to some other communities, in order to get it right: To set up privacy-protected portals for collecting and monitoring individuals’ vaccination records, for instance.
Health Director Bond: Taking time to get it right.
About 68 percent of all New Haveners 12 years old and above have received at least one vaccine shot, and 61 percent are fully vaccinated, Health Director Maritza Bond reported. She said about 1,000 people a week are getting vaccines.
Elicker said he doesn’t know how many city government employees are vaccinated. About 50 – 60 percent of city police officers have gotten vaccinated, according to Interim Police Chief Renee Dominguez.
The heads of the city police and fire unions attended the press conference, watching from the back.
Afterwards, police union President Florencio Cotto approached Elicker and accused him of being “disingenuous” with the new policy.
How so? Elicker asked. Cotto responded that he wasn’t going to elaborate in the presence of “the press.”
The administration crafted the policy without meeting in advance with union leaders. Elicker said his administration plans to meet with union leaders in coming weeks in advance of the start of the mandate — including a scheduled 3 p.m. meeting Friday with Cotto and fire union President Patrick Cannon. Cotto and Cannon declined comment at the scene of the press conference.
Click here to watch Friday’s press conference.
Bond also reported Friday that 58 New Haven residents were hospitalized because of Covid-19 as of Friday. An estimated 30 percent involved “breakthrough” cases involving vaccinated patients, most of whom were immunocompromised or recently traveled to areas with especially high rates of transmission, she said. Only one of the 58 patients is a pediatric case, contrary to rumors on social media.