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Fifty-seven percent of Honolulu first responders who requested an exemption from the county’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate professed their faith in written statements describing how their religious beliefs prevent inoculation.
While many seeking to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine highlight personal faith and interpretation of a particular doctrine to bolster their argument that a vaccine is not for them, no major organized religion has recommended against receiving it, and most are aligned in endorsing and promoting vaccination.
In August, Pope Francis recorded a video message urging Catholics to get vaccinated, declaring that getting the COVID-19 vaccine “authorized by the respective authorities” and then urging others to do the same is an “act of love.”
Honolulu is the only government employer in Hawaii that does not allow weekly testing for workers who decline to be vaccinated and are not also exempt for religious beliefs or medical conditions. Weekly testing for exempt city employees began Aug. 30.
COVID-19 as of Sunday had killed 668 people in Honolulu since the pandemic began, including two city employees.
Human Resources Director Noel Ono told Honolulu City Council members on Tuesday that anyone who applied for a medical exemption had to provide a form letter from their medical provider indicating that they are unable to receive the vaccine. For a religious exemption, an employee was required to submit a written statement explaining their religious beliefs and practices and how they prevent them from getting vaccinated.
The department had received 948 exemption requests by Oct. 18, 76% of the time for religious beliefs.
First responders accounted for eight of the 19 medical exemptions that were approved. The city requested more medical information from 12 Honolulu police officers, one Emergency Services Department employee and one Honolulu Fire Department worker. Three police officers and one firefighter were asked to provide more information to support their claims of religious and medical exemptions.
The Honolulu Police Department accounted for 309 exemption requests; the Emergency Services Department, 118; and the Honolulu Fire Department, 114. One first responder from the Emergency Services Department was terminated for refusing to comply with the mandate.
Despite the exemptions, about 86% of Honolulu police officers, 89% of Honolulu firefighters and 78% of emergency medical services technicians and ocean safety personnel were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 8.
“The EMS Division encourages all employees, employees’ families, and the public to get vaccinated for COVID-19, influenza, and other communicable diseases. Generally speaking, vaccines are the best tools we have to prevent these diseases. Being vaccinated not only prevents the likelihood of contracting any of these diseases oneself but also reduces the likelihood of transmission to family, friends, or the rest of the community,” acting EMS Chief Christopher Sloman told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser.
About 90% of the county’s 10,147 workers were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 8, according to the city.
On Friday a federal judge dismissed a complaint seeking to stop state and county COVID-19 vaccination policies, essentially saying that government is not forcing employees to take vaccines, because there are options for weekly testing and opportunities for exemptions.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson said a dozen county employees — 10 first responders from Honolulu and two from Maui — were not being forced to take “experimental” coronavirus vaccines, as claimed in their lawsuit filed Aug. 13.
The reluctance of some of Hawaii’s first responders to accept the vaccine is not unique. Nationwide, police officers, firefighters and paramedics and the unions representing them have filed grievances and lawsuits — and in some cases, first responders have quit rather than comply.
In Chicago about 4,290 of the city’s 13,000 police officers are defying a city mandate to report their vaccination status and risk disciplinary action, according to a PBS story.
In Washington, D.C., more than 400 fire and emergency medical workers applied for religious exemptions to the district’s vaccine mandate, and in Los Angeles, LAPD leadership forecasts that roughly a quarter of the Police Department is expected to seek religious exemptions, National Public Radio reported.
Why some in occupations that are dedicated to public safety and keeping the citizenry out of harm’s way are reluctant to accept a vaccine during a pandemic is difficult to pin down.
The Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division had 70 of its 241 lifeguards request an exemption to the vaccination mandate, Chief John Titchen told the Star- Advertiser.
“Ocean Safety has timely distributed all notifications, guidance, memos, and the like, from Mayor (Rick) Blangiardi to our work force. We have continuously reminded our Ocean Safety First Responders — critical to the safety and well being of residents and visitors on our beaches and in our near shore waters — of the value of vaccination against COVID-19,” said Titchen. “This Administration has provided an option to workers who choose not to vaccinate, and so far, the impact on our operations with respect to an associated testing requirement with this option is negligible at best.”
Blangiardi’s administration has been moving rapidly to improve the testing option process by providing more locations.
“This is very important to a workforce such as ours, which is very disparate and spread out at various work sites around the island of Oahu (41 towers, 24 mobile units and 12 temporary facilities at Department of Parks and Recreation properties),” said Titchen.
Acting HPD Chief Rade Vanic, acting HFD Chief Lionel Camara, acting Deputy Chief Sheldon Hao and ESD Director Dr. James Ireland did not reply to Star-Advertiser requests for an interview about vaccine exemptions.
While a form letter from a medical provider is required for medical exemptions, employees citing religion as the reason to pass on a COVID- 19 vaccine need only provide a written statement.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with at least 15 employees, as well as employment agencies and unions, from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
Title VII protects all aspects of religion, and the definition of what the law covers is broad. Title VII protects Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism but also new and unique religious beliefs that are not part of a formal organization, have only a few followers, and beliefs that seem crazy and count a single adherent, according to the EEO.
Blangiardi has said that unless a religious or medical claim is blatantly questionable, employees who request it will receive their exemption.
First responders account for a high number of city employee exemptions, and most have said they are not vaccinated based on religious beliefs.
“All city employees were able to submit an exemption request. Larger departments would statistically have a larger number of people requesting exemptions,” said Tim Sakahara, Blangiardi’s communications director. “We thank all City employees who have researched the benefits of the vaccine and received their shot to protect themselves, their coworkers and their families. COVID-19 vaccines are free, safe and effective, and everyone who is eligible should get vaccinated.”
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