The Coos County Board of Commissioners have declared a State of Emergency over Public Health and Safety Services’ ability to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic and a foreseeable lack of adequate resources. The move comes following the state’s mandate for healthcare workers to be vaccinated by October 18th. All three Coos County Commissioners signed the order requesting the state to immediately withdraw the vaccination mandate to prevent further deterioration of the public health and safety workforce. Public Health spokesman Dr. Eric Gleason believes that moving forward with the vaccination mandate would “disproportionately affect the support system” which includes nurses and support staff. However, he says the resolution will not change the fact that health care workers will still have to be fully vaccinated by October 18th to continue working in the field.
