AG Ferguson Mandates Booster for Staff, but Most COVID Infections Hit the Vaccinated

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is requiring staff to receive COVID booster shots in order to return to work. His move comes after data by the Washington State Department of Health provides more evidence that the vaccine does not stop infection.

Ferguson’s office released an all-staff memo on March 14. The memo reminds office staff that Ferguson’s booster mandate would be triggered if the DOH recommends vaccine boosters, which they do.

Information obtained by the Jason Rantz Show indicates that the requirement for a COVID booster also applies to contractors through the attorney general’s office.

The attorney general’s COVID-19 booster requirement declaration stipulates “every employee and subcontractor of contractor, before engaging in onsite work at any AGO location, is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 … and is in compliance with any legal requirement or AGO policy requiring booster dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine.”

Eligible employees must show proof of a booster shot by March 31. If an employee is not yet eligible, they must turn over private medical data to the AG’s office so “we can calculate the date by which they must receive the booster.” Presumably, if the DOH recommends a second booster, staff would be subject to it as well.

Will Ferguson’s office approve religious accommodations? It seems unlikely.

“[W]e granted temporary religious accommodations while our office has been primarily teleworking. Due to the nature of the job duties involved, to date we have not granted any religious accommodations extending to our return to the office on April 4,” the spokesperson told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

It’s unclear why the staff, who have worked remotely for months, could not continue to do that same work remotely after April 4.

The governor’s office, which has separate staff mandates from the AG, does not plan to require boosters.

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Bob Ferguson’s policy is not based on science or data

The original reason for the vaccine mandates was that it would stop the spread of COVID. But the vaccine does not stop the spread.

Washington DOH data shows that the majority of omicron COVID infections were breakthrough cases — individuals who were fully vaccinated — thanks to the more virulent, but less deadly, variant.

“As omicron began to surge across Washington state in late December, breakthrough infections accounted for more than half of all coronavirus infections reported here, according to data from the state health department,” the Seattle Times noted.

The data strongly suggests vaccination will prevent serious illness and hospitalization. It’s a good enough reason to be vaccinated. But public health officials and politicians are reluctant to be honest.

They won’t flatly say vaccines do not prevent the spread of COVID. But that’s how the vaccine was originally pitched by doctors and politicians. And if you dare stray from their pre-approved talking points, you’re deemed anti-vaccine. The vaccine zealots don’t seem to realize that either withholding information or promoting the vaccine in announcements when you come down with COVID sends mixed messages on its efficacy.

Ferguson aims to control your medical decisions

If the vaccine does not stop the spread of COVID, Ferguson’s reason for mandating the booster (and continuing to mandate the vaccine itself) as a condition of employment is to control your medical decisions.

While it almost certainly is the right medical decision for the majority of people (after consultation with their doctors), it’s a dramatic example of government overreach. It highlights the difference between Democrats, who want more control over your lives, and Republicans, who prefer you make up your mind yourself.

The eagerness to control your medical decisions seems ironic coming from the same politicians who decry Republicans as trying to control the “health care decisions” when it comes to abortion. Indeed, Ferguson has sued to allow women to make up their own minds on abortion.

But when it comes to COVID vaccines, he’s forcing his views on his staff, holding their livelihoods hostage if they do not comply.

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Government overreach

Where does this stop?

Ferguson may feel his position is noble. It’s to prevent his staff from getting seriously ill– a laudable goal, indeed. But why wouldn’t that extend to other decisions? Heart disease and cancer kill more Americans than COVID.

Drink sugary beverages? Smoke cigarettes? Are you 40 pounds overweight? Drop the Coke (ironically, in Washington, Democrats aren’t referring to the drug that they decriminalized), quit smoking, and lose the weight, or you can’t work here!

This is an equally laudable goal since it helps save lives and keep people healthy, especially since obesity and cancer make one more susceptible to the serious effects of COVID. Would you be comfortable with that move? If not, why are you comfortable with him mandating boosters?

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