US: Los Angeles County sheriff warns of mass staff cuts if vaccine mandate is imposed

On Tuesday, November 2, Sheriff Alex Villanueva of Los Angeles County in the United States said that he will not comply with a rule forcing deputies to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face firing. He claimed that with this rule, thousands of deputies will leave the agency, leading to an increase in crime, reported The Associated Press (AP). Meanwhile, Janice Hahn, one of the five members of the panel who unanimously supported the policy, chastised him for defying the order that was passed by the LA County Board of Supervisors last summer. "He is placing both his subordinates and the public they interact with on a daily basis in danger. What we need from the sheriff right now is leadership, for once," she was quoted as saying by the news agency. 

Vaccine mandates for government personnel are being implemented across the US. Meanwhile, several cities are clashing with first responder unions over the rules. For refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine order that went into force on October 2, almost 9,000 New York City municipal workers, including 34 officers, have been placed on unpaid leave. Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that 70% of its officers and civilian personnel were fully inoculated. Under the city's policy, employees who do not wish to be vaccinated can opt to be tested twice a week at their own expense. 

'52% of deputies and other personnel fully vaccinated'

With nearly 10 million residents, Los Angeles is the nation's most populated county, and Villanueva's agency is the country's largest sheriff's department, with about 10,000 sworn deputies and 5,800 civilian employees. By October 1, all county employees had to register their vaccination status and produce proof of full inoculation, unless they had a medical or religious exemption. At least 52% of deputies and other personnel of the sheriff's department are fully vaccinated, in comparison to 77% of all county employees, reported The AP. 

According to Villanueva, more than 3,000 deputies and other agency personnel are yet to register with the county regarding their immunisation status. Meanwhile, over 3,100 deputies and 1,000 civilians who registered and reported their status as unvaccinated might face termination. Villanueva went on to say that he is vaccinated, but believes that others should be allowed to make their own decisions rather than being forced to get jabs. 

(With AP inputs)

Image: AP