Massachusetts Attorney General Doubles Down on Mandatory Vaccination for Public Employees

(WGBH.org) – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey reiterated her call for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for public employees Tuesday during her regular appearance on Boston Public Radio, calling it “just a matter of public safety.”

“Look, you’re there, you’re getting paid by the taxpayer — you have an obligation, whether it’s delivering public health or public safety,” Healey said. “You’re interacting with the public. That’s a part of your job, by definition.”

In some cases, Healey noted, individuals may be exempt from any vaccine requirements due to personal health and religious belief. But she suggested that individuals abstaining on those grounds may effectively forfeit the right to public-sector employment.

“You may have a right to refuse a vaccine,” Healey said. “It may not, though, mean you have a right to a certain job if that job requires you to meet certain standards and qualifications.”

In March, responding to vaccine hesitancy among state police and corrections officers, Healey told Boston Public Radio that vaccines should be mandated for those groups “as a matter of what’s right, practical and common sense.”

Gov. Charlie Baker balked at that the idea on the program two days later, saying, “I don’t think we should head down that road until we’ve actually had a process and a time here where there’s far more normalization to the whole idea of getting vaccinated.”

Baker, a Republican, has yet to say whether he’ll seek a third term in 2022. Healey is seen as a possible contender for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

During her appearance Tuesday, Healey urged the public to be wary of various vaccine-related scams, citing fake vaccine cards recently available on the online marketplace OfferUp. Read Full Article >