Berkeley will drop its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for city employees on March 1, aligning with the end of the state’s pandemic emergency declaration.
Existing Berkeley city employees have been required to show proof of vaccination since late 2021 unless they had a valid exemption, while all new hires had to report their vaccination status as a condition of employment.
That’s set to change next week, officials with the city’s Public Health Division said Tuesday, while masking requirements inside city buildings and vehicles will also be relaxed.
Berkeley is one of three cities in the state, along with Long Beach and Pasadena, that operate as an independent public health jurisdiction.
The city handles its own public health matters independent of the Alameda County Public Health Department, but the two have generally been aligned throughout the pandemic.
“I’m confident that this very difficult part of our history has better prepared us to respond to emergencies in the future,” Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said.
“Obviously it’s changed the way that we live, it’s changed the way that we work, and there’s really no going back,” he said. “It’s a question of how we move forward.”
“Berkeley will drop its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for city employees on March 1, aligning with the end of the state’s pandemic emergency declaration.”
I’m no rocket scientist, but my guess would be March 1.
2 more weeks!
I sincerely hope that anyone who lost their job due to their vaccination status joins in a large class action suit that ends up collapsing some cities financially due to their arrogance and Virtue Signaling to the rest of us.