Discussion on enforcement of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate was held during the Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Board Chair Richard Young explained that he requested the topic be on the meeting agenda so they can stay informed of the federal order that employers with 100 employees or more require workers to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing by January 4th. There was some uncertainty of what the board was able to do at this time as Governor Kim Reynolds filed a lawsuit on November 5th challenging the rule. Young and Supervisor Jack Seward, Jr. both expressed that they are not “antivaxx” but they believe in personal choice. Supervisor Stan Stoops commented that he comes from a generation that doesn’t like to be told what to do, and said that he had received several phone calls against a vaccine mandate since the meeting’s agenda was published. Young commented that he requested for County Attorney John Gish to comment on the legality of the mandate, which he declined. Interim Public Health Administrator Chris Estle mentioned that the public health staff are required to be vaccinated in order to be reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.