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Berkeley Could Require City Employees To Be Vaccinated

A street corner with signs depicting Berkeley and California Avenues
Keoki Seu
/
Flickr/CC
Berkeley and California Avenues

Berkeley is the latest in the Bay Area to consider mandating vaccines for city employees. The city manager told employees that they may have to get vaccinated as a condition of their employment.

Berkeleyside reports that discussions with the unions that represent those employees are set to begin soon. If the policy is successful, city employees would have until October 15 to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19.

Last week, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín said he hoped to follow the lead of San Jose and Walnut Creek. Those two cities are allowing unvaccinated employees to return to work, provided they test regularly. This move by the city manager would take that a step further — making vaccines mandatory.

The state of California requires it’s workforce to be vaccinated, as does the city of San Francisco.

Christopher J. Beale is an independent radio host, producer, and journalist living in San Francisco.