Sedgwick County commissioners wrestle with vaccine mandate as COVID death toll hits 1,000
As Sedgwick County’s COVID-19 death toll crept over the 1,000 mark Wednesday, an official reported that 61 county health employees remain unvaccinated. One faces possible firing.
Sedgwick County reported one new COVID death Wednesday to reach 1,000 in the roughly two years since the coronavirus-caused disease reached the Wichita area. The county has long reported fewer deaths than the state, which listed 1,248 COVID deaths in Sedgwick County as of Wednesday.
The milestone went unmentioned as county commissioners, who act as the board of public health, expressed regret over having to comply with a federal vaccine mandate for employees of their health department and COMCARE mental-health agency.
During their Wednesday meeting, commissioners urged Human Resources Director Sheena Schmutz to do all she could to find another job where vaccination is not required for the lone employee who refused the shot and didn’t file for an easy-to-get exemption.
As of the vaccination deadline on Monday, the county had 533 employees required to get the vaccine.
Of those, 467 have had both doses of the two-shot regimen and are considered fully vaccinated; five have had their first dose and need to get their second shot by April 4; 60 filed for and were granted an exemption, Schmutz reported.
The commission unanimously approved the policy requiring universal vaccination for health workers on Jan. 19. If they hadn’t, the county would have lost $11.8 million in health funding from the federal government.
All five commissioners criticized the federal government for forcing their hand on the vaccine mandate.
Commissioner Jim Howell seemed puzzled that the one employee who is out of compliance didn’t seek an exemption, which was as simple as signing a form stating that they were refusing the shot for health or religious reasons.
“It doesn’t require anybody to cite chapter and verse, they can simply sign the affidavit that they have a religious conviction or whatever,” Howell said.
He asked management to move the vaccine-refusing employee to another county job.
“If there’s a way we can use them in a position that doesn’t require this vaccine, then we need to try to keep our employees if we can,” he said. “And I would rather see someone moved to a different area . . . than see them walk out the door.”
Commissioner Lacey Cruse joined Howell’s call to transfer rather than fire the out-of-compliance employee.
“I don’t want mandates,” Cruse said. “I’m actually really concerned about this one employee . . . could we find another position for them to go to? Is that something we have discussed?”
Schmutz said no.
“That is not the process for this,” she said. “The employee is out of compliance with a policy and so our practice is not to find employees new positions when they’re out of compliance with a policy.”
Cruse pressed on: “If they wanted to — I’m sorry to interrupt you — but if move to a different area of Sedgwick County, would that . . .”
Schmutz replied that the affected employee could apply for a transfer, “but the only times we assist employees in transfers is if there is an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodation in place and that is not the case here.”
All five commissioners indicated the loss of federal funding and not public health was their primary motivation for acquiescing to the mandate.
Commissioner Pete Meitzner said he’s had “buyer’s remorse” over his vote and likened it to the national 55 mph speed limit that was imposed by the federal government during the energy crisis in 1973.
“Many of the states, especially western states that had no speed limit, really objected, but they all acquiesced because the federal government was going to be heavy handed and withhold (highway) money,” he said. “And that’s kind of what’s happening here.
“I fully anticipate that right around the corner as soon as the federal mandate on this vaccination world comes to an end, we’ll be notified and we can just eliminate this like others. I don’t like it either, but 11 and a half million dollars is pretty important.”
Howell apologized for his vote to mandate vaccines and recommended that the county declare the pandemic over and take down its online dashboard that tracks infection and hospitalization rates.
That was a bridge too far for Commissioner Sarah Lopez, who worked in the Ascension Via Christi medical system before winning election to the commission.
“Our community is still asking for this information so I think it would be really odd for us not to put it out there,” she said, “I’m very thankful right now we’re in a lull with COVID and I completely understand that, but it’s still here, it’s still prevalent in our community.
“So let’s enjoy this time now and try to get as much done as we can (of) county business beyond COVID, but saying it’s over is inaccurate.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 1:31 PM.
