CA Lawmakers Stall On Controversial Vaccine Mandate Bill [Survey]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A highly contentious bill to mandate vaccines in California was halted this week amid pushback and questions of how it could be enforced. The proposal was also adding more fuel to a push to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The proposal, which Democratic lawmakers have deliberated on for a month, would require every worker in the state to verify his vaccination status or test weekly.

The proposal will be held until next year to allow more time to create the "strongest policy possible," the bill's author, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), said.

The bill, officially announced by Wicks on Monday, would have required both public and private sector employers across the state to require a vaccination of or impose a weekly testing requirement on employees.

"We’ve made significant progress over the past couple weeks, and I’m hopeful that this conversation will ultimately lead to an increase in vaccination rates and a decrease in COVID deaths and [intensive care unit] stays," Wicks said.

The proposal stopped short of requiring vaccinations for workers as the Food and Drug Administration only formally approved the Pfizer vaccine, not Moderna or Johnson & Johnson ones. It remains to be seen if such mandates come down for residents if all vaccines gain federal approval.

The proposal to create one of the toughest coronavirus-related mandates yet comes as political tensions rise around vaccination measures.

The mere mention of it could also hurt Newsom's battle against an upcoming election to recall him, an effort that largely gained traction among those who opposed his approach to navigating the pandemic. Newsom has not publicly commented on the bill.

Gubernatorial candidate and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) swiftly vowed to fight the bill last week.

"Our victory over AB 455 will be short-lived if we don't keep up the pressure and elect a Governor who understands the Constitution is more than a piece of paper," Kiley tweeted on Tuesday.

A previous draft of Wicks' bill, obtained by the Los Angeles Times last week, would have called for anyone entering a restaurant, bar, gym, hotel or event center to show proof of full vaccination. It's unclear whether that text made it into the most recent version of the bill.

"We all want these tragic times to be over, and to see the pandemic behind us — and the fact is that vaccinations are our pathway there," Wicks said.

State officials are scrambling to find solutions to a new phase of the pandemic in which the delta variant rips through the unvaccinated population as Californians return to their workplaces and social lives. The coronavirus mutation is highly transmissible and more likely to infect the vaccinated, albeit at a lower rate.

The introduction of a vaccine mandate also raised the question of how frequently booster shots would be recommended and whether they would be required. To date, officials are recommending that vaccinated Californians get a booster shot eight months after their last dose.

READ MORE: 5 Things To Know About Coronavirus Booster Shots In CA

More than 80 percent of Californians 14 or older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Newsom announced Tuesday.

"That ranks us #9 in the country and #1 among larger states," Newsom tweeted.

The state's positivity rate has fallen to 4.2 percent, down from 6.2 percent in late July. But cases are still surging among those who are unvaccinated.

Google, based in Mountain View, announced Tuesday that it was postponing a return to the office for most workers until January amid surging cases. The company will require all employees to be vaccinated once its sprawling campuses fully reopen.

"As an industry that employs millions of Californians, retailers will continue to be part of the effort with the administration, the legislature and in our communities on how we can best move forward on this important public health issue,” Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, wrote in a statement. "We share Assemblymember Wicks’ commitment to moving California past this pandemic."