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PITTSBURGH (AP) – Allegheny County government employees will be required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination by December 1 or face termination under a policy announced Wednesday by the top elected official in the county of western Pennsylvania.
About 5,000 employees are subject to the new mandate, of which more than 75% are already vaccinated. The others will need to receive the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or their second dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines by Dec. 1 to be considered compliant, officials said.
Government employees who are not vaccinated and do not get exemptions will be made redundant as of Dec. 2, the county said.
County officials cited the increase in the highly contagious delta variant, which has resulted in an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, and the need to protect workers and the public.
“This is the right thing for our county and our workforce,” County Manager Rich Fitzgerald said in a statement.
In early August, the county, which includes the city of Pittsburgh, announced that all new hires should be vaccinated against the coronavirus and imposed masking and testing requirements on current employees who had not yet been vaccinated.
Allegheny County is home to 1.2 million people, just behind Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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