Vaccine mandate sparks Sequim protest

Well more than 100 protesters rallied a little before noon Wednesday at the corner of Washington Street and Sequim Avenue, as healthcare and long-term care workers sought to bring attention to a statewide vaccination mandate.

Amy Pearson, who organized the protest, said she wanted to draw attention to Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement that she and other state employees must show proof of vaccination by Oct. 18 or lose their jobs.

“I felt it went great — a lot more people than I expected,” she said.

Protesters carried varying messages, some to do with the vaccine mandate and others to do with mask requirements.

“That’s OK; people felt they wanted to bring more topics into it,” Pearson said. “My point was, we want medical autonomy what goes into their bodies, (to have) freedom to make that decision without losing (our) jobs.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Aug. 9 issued an emergency proclamation mandating that most state executive branch employees and on-site contractors and volunteers, along with public and private health care and long-term care workers, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18.

Individuals included in the proclamation’s mandate must receive the final dose of their vaccination no later than Oct. 4 so as to be fully vaccinated two weeks later on Oct. 18 to comply with the proclamation.

“We shouldn’t be forced to make a decision under oppression,” Pearson said Wednesday. “This is all about freedom of choice.”

Pearson, who works in a dental clinic, said she’s not anti-vaccination, but that she and others shouldn’t be forced to get vaccinated in order to keep their jobs.

Jason Parkinson, a Sequim resident, said he and his family got COVID-19 about two months ago. He too expressed frustration with the vaccination mandate.

“It’s a violation of our rights. There’s a pattern here. First something is suggested, then recommended, then mandated.”

Parkinson, who is partially paralysed from the neck down, said he was put in intensive care (ICU) after contracting pneumonia two years ago, and that the experience was worse than his COVID sickness.

“I’m grateful I got COVID; it taught me about the fear mongering going on,” he said.

“I think people need to do more research.”

School protest, mandate

A second rally was planned for later Wednesday at about 5 p.m. to protest the mask mandate for Washington state students; Gov. Inslee Wednesday ordered a statewide mask mandate for those students as well as a vaccine requirement for all public, private and charter school employees for the coming 2020-2021 school year.

Pearson said she hopes to see her children— one a middle schooler and the other an incoming kindergartner — got o school full time but without a full mask mandate.

“I fully support that (protest) as well,” she said. “Both my children suffer from asthma, so they already struggle with wearing masks. I don’t envy the teachers.”

State superintendent Chris Reykdahl said the order should not delay or impact a return to full-time, in-person learning this fall.

“Employees who are not yet vaccinated will have time to do so while still working and serving students,” he said in a press release Wednesday. “In addition, the order is specific to school employees and is not related to the vaccination of students.”

Reykdahl said schools could return to a remote learning model this school year because of quarantine or school building closures due to COVID-19 transmission.

“Knowing that an in-person learning experience surrounded by their educators, caring staff, and peers is the best opportunity for most students, we must do everything we can to make our schools as safe and healthy as possible,” he said.

“I support the Governor in taking this action and I encourage all of our school employees to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Larry Delaney, president of the state teacher’s union Washington Education Association, offered comments about Inslee’s proclamation later Wednesday, in support of the vaccination requirement: “Vaccines are a safe and effective tool to reduce COVID transmission,” Delaney wrote in a press release. “By vaccinating staff we reduce the possibility of infecting those who cannot be vaccinated, including our students under 12 years old. WEA calls on everyone who can to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Chadley Klinger holds a handmade sign at the intersection of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street on Aug. 18, protesting the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. “I don’t think that people’s livelihoods should be threatened by how they take care of their bodies,” Klinger said. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Gary and Lisa Rocha attend the vaccine mandate protest in downtown Sequim because, “We support medical freedom,” Lisa said. “America is about freedom of choice,” Gary said. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Protestors express their opinions with a flag and a hand-lettered sign at a vaccine mandate protest at the intersection of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street on Aug. 18. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Protestors express their opinions with handwritten signs in downtown Sequim on Aug. 18. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Protestors ask drivers to react to their signs at the intersection of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street on Aug. 18. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Two men, a dog, and a sign cross the intersection of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street during a loud protest on Aug. 18 against vaccine mandates for health workers. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Protestors cheer after getting encouraging honks from drivers at the intersection of Washington Street and Sequim Avenue on Aug. 18. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell