Health & Fitness
28% Of Milwaukee County Workers Haven't Given Vaccine Proof
Milwaukee County employees either proved they were fully vaccinated or got an exemption under the county's new COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
MILWAUKEE, WI — Some 72 percent of Milwaukee County employees provided proof of COVID-19 vaccination or received an exemption, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said at a media briefing Tuesday.
About 4,060 people work for the county, and a little more than 1,000 employees haven't turned in vaccine documentation, Crowley said.
Unvaccinated employees, including those with approved exemptions, will need to wear face masks, Crowley said.
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Employees who were exempt from vaccines would be have to submit to extra COVID-19 mitigation measures by Monday, county spokesperson Brandon Weathersby told Patch. Those include the following.
- Wear a fitted N95 face mask in any county health care setting.
- Wear a KN95 face mask when working in person in a non-health-care setting.
- Get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks and wear a KN95 mask when working in the Milwaukee County House of Correction, the Milwaukee County Jail or the Milwaukee County Division of Youth and Family Services Detention Center.
- Unvaccinated contractors will no longer be allowed to work in high-risk facilities.
The county on Sept. 3 mandated that employees had to submit proof by Oct. 1 that they completed a COVID-19 vaccine series or had a medical or religious exemption, the county executive's office said in a statement.
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Employees who didn't comply with the mandate by Monday would be ineligible for overtime or for hazard pay, the office said. Those who still weren't vaccinated by Jan. 1, 2022, and were enrolled in the county's health care plan will have to pay an additional $20 out of each paycheck.
Workers represented by public safety unions were exempt from the mandate, Weathersby told Patch. Milwaukee County Transit System staff were also unaffected by the order.
Some 56.4 percent of people living in Milwaukee County have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 52.5 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, Wisconsin Department of Health Services data showed.
Some 54.4 percent of Wisconsin residents have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series, health services data showed.
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