COVID Vaccines Mandatory For Bucks Corrections Employees: Reports

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Employees of the Bucks County Correctional Department will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination going forward, according to reports.

The directive comes after a surge in COVID-19 cases at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in early August, when 47 people incarcerated there tested positive. At the time, Corrections Director David Kratz said a vaccine mandate was being concerned.

Now, the county has set an Oct. 1 deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated or obtain a medical or religious exemption, county spokesman James O'Malley confirmed to the Bucks County Courier Times. He said that those who have not received at least one dose or submitted for an exemption by Aug. 27 will be terminated.

According to Levittown Now, some staff who do not wish to receive the vaccine have sought employment elsewhere, retired, gotten vaccinated to keep their jobs, or decided to wait and see whether or not the directive will be enforced.

O’Malley also told Levittown Now that the county is working to make sure its third-party vendors, in addition to the department's more than 340 employees, are also vaccinated.

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