Stanton will require all city staff members to prove they are vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested once a week.
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The City Council voted 3-1 late last month to adopt the policy. Council member Rigoberto Ramirez was absent.
Council member Hong Alyce Van, who voted with the majority, noted during the council meeting that this new policy isn’t too drastic of a change for the city.
According to Cynthia Guzman, the city’s human resources and risk management analyst, city employees previously only self-attested their vaccination status for the purpose of not having to wear a mask, but they were not required to be vaccinated or tested.
City contractors and volunteers will all have to abide by this requirement.
According to a staff report, 51 of 59 city employees have self-attested to being fully vaccinated at the time it was released.
Mayor David Shawver cast the lone dissenting vote. He raised concerns about how the new policy requiring either testing or vaccination is too restrictive of personal freedoms.
“I believe that we should not force anything on an individual. I think each of us has individual rights, so I will not be supporting this. Although, I did get my shots and I’ll be wearing a mask,” said Shawver.
With its new policy, Stanton has joined a list of Orange County cities, including Santa Ana, Irvine and Laguna Beach in issuing a vaccine requirement for staff.