Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced Thursday that the county will be ending its COVID-19 vaccine requirements and its leave policies that were implemented at the beginning of the pandemic.
This comes after the Department of Health and Human Services declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency last week.
“Following the ending of the Federal Health Emergency on May 11, it is time for Allegheny County to do the same,” said Fitzgerald. “At the height of the pandemic, it was important to keep our fellow employees and the public we serve safe by having our employees vaccinated. While we still encourage people to protect themselves against COVID, the lifting of the emergency by the federal governments suggests to us to be consistent.”
The vaccine requirement for county employees and new hires was implemented in Sept. 2021.
COVID-19 vaccines will still be covered at no cost to county employees under their healthcare, according to a release. The ACHD’s Immunization Clinic will also continue to offer COVID-19 vaccines to those who need their initial COVID-19 vaccination, updated bivalent vaccination and residents who are eligible to receive an additional shot.
The county will also end its paid COVID-19 leave on May 31.
“The response to the pandemic required everyone within county government, the health systems, countless community partners and residents working together to keep everyone as healthy as possible, while limiting the spread of the virus, especially during the outbreak’s earliest days,” said Patrick Dowd, Acting Director of ACHD. “This transition to a right-sized response to COVID-19 is an appropriate one as case numbers continue to drop to their lowest level in three years. We have built an effective and efficient disease outbreak response blueprint during the pandemic and, if another global public health threat emerges, are ready to respond at a moment’s notice.”
The county health department will announce further changes to its COVID-19 response as information becomes available.
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