LaMay’s Friday sign-off, which was shared tens of thousands of times on social media, came as several law enforcement officers and other first responders across the United States
resisted coronavirus vaccination and fought mandates. Those holdouts remain reluctant to get the shots even as covid-19 has emerged as the No. 1 cause of line-of-duty deaths in the first half of 2021,
according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which reported 71 deaths between January and June.
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert,
appealed to officers directly to get the immunization Monday, saying the resistance “doesn’t make any sense” given that “more police officers die of covid than they do in other causes of death.”
In Washington state, most government employees — about 89 percent — have complied with the mandate, according to data provided to The Washington Post by the governor’s office. When including those who received accommodations, the compliance is about 92 percent. Spokesman Mike Faulk said officials expect the final figures, which will include employees who got the shots in the two weeks that preceded Monday’s deadline, to be higher than that.
But there have been pockets of resistance, with state troopers joining an ultimately unsuccessful last-ditch lawsuit seeking to put the mandate on hold. For those choosing to leave their jobs rather than get the shots, Faulk said, “We thank them for their service and wish them well, but this state is moving forward to get people vaccinated and to end this crisis.”
LaMay, who went public with his opposition to the mandate in August, told The Post that he was skeptical about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, despite
repeated assurances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said he was concerned that “the people pushing it are politicians.” He cited fears over long-term effects, including on fertility, though health officials have said there is
no evidence of such harm.
