JUNEAU (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy said President Joe Biden’s push to require millions of U.S. workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is “ill conceived, divisive and un-American.”
“At a time in which
we are called to work together, forced medical procedures run counter to our collective sense of fairness and liberty,” the
Republican Dunleavy said Sept. 10. “My administration is aggressively identifying every tool at our disposal to protect the inherent individual rights of all Alaskans.”
Biden a day earlier outlined plans to mandate that employers with more than 100 workers require their employees to be vaccinated or test for COVID-19 weekly. When asked about critics who might sue over the plan, Biden said, “Have at it.”
Dunleavy has faced some criticism for not issuing a statewide mask mandate and for not implementing a new disaster declaration to deal with a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
He has instead asked lawmakers to act on legislation intended to address staffing concerns raised by health care facilities.
In his statement, Dunleavy said it is “clear from the data and empirical evidence
over the last year that the
vaccine is the most effective way to fight COVID-19. From what we are seeing in our
hospitals, the very ill are mostly those who are unvaccinated.”
The governor said he would “continue to recommend that Alaskans speak to their health care providers and discuss the merits of the vaccine based on their individual healthcare needs.”
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