Centre County government is considering a policy requiring proof of vaccination or weekly COVID testing for its approximately 560 workers.
Commissioners Mark Higgins and Michael Pipe are in favor of the potential policy, while Steven Dershem said during a Dec. 21 board meeting that he cannot support the plan.
The policy came up during the discussion of a contract agreement with Qualtrics LLC to provide software to track employee vaccination and testing status. The cost of the year-long contract is $26,055, and the commissioners plan to use American Rescue Plan money to fund it.
Previously, the board discussed the vaccination and COVID testing policy during a work session Dec.16, but have yet to put it into place with a vote. On Dec. 21, in discussion of the policy, Dershem said, “I can’t support it. I believe that everybody needs to be tested universally or we take temperature checks daily of everyone coming in the building.”
He argued that individuals that are vaccinated can still have the virus, “and I don’t think that it is fair to bifurcate our employees and expect a different outcome.”
Pipe noted that temperature checks are problematic because of the asymptomatic nature of some COVID-positive people.
“Studies have shown that just doing temperature checks misses a lot of folks. It is a good step, it is not a bad thing to do, but in lieu of testing, it is not effective,” Pipe said.
He added that it is true that the vaccinated could carry COVID-19, but “if you are unvaccinated, you spread it more easily.”
Dershem suggested that with the unknowns surrounding the new Omicron variant, “we need to treat everybody under a uniform policy.”
Pipe told Dershem, “I think your strategy of not doing this would potentially harm the health of our employees and citizens if we keep on the course we are going. … I would argue this policy would make our employees healthier, their families healthier and our citizens safe. If we don’t do anything, I think that is actually putting their health and the residents who come into our building into more jeopardy.”
Dershem then suggested that everyone should be subject to the same testing, regardless of vaccination status.
“I think you either test everyone or you test no one. Same thing with temperature checks,” Dershem said. “If you are really concerned about people, because when they leave this building, they are going to do what they are going to do. They are going to live their lives, whether the impact of COVID touches us or not. I do believe under the Omicron variant, that everyone is going to, or has been, exposed to that strain at some point. It is an incredibly virulent disease, as far as its spread. … There is no perfect solution here. It is all what you consider reasonable.
“I am just very concerned that we are heading down a path of alienating folks for one reason or another, either medically or personally, that have chosen not to get vaccinated”
Pipe suggested that they speak to officials from Mount Nittany Health to determine if a policy of testing both the vaccinated and unvaccinated would make sense in the current environment.
While the contract with the software company would be needed if the county were to test vaccinated people or not, Dershem said he would like to know what the policy is before he agrees to go into the contract. Higgins and Pipe agreed to the contract.
“Unfortunately, I do not think we have time to wait any longer to get this policy in place,” Pipe said.
Higgins agreed, saying they needed time to order the software and become accustomed to it, “to ensure how we are going to handle 260 people or as many as 560 people all starting on the same week.
The next scheduled board meeting is Dec. 28.
This story appears in the Dec. 23-29 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
