(C) Minnesota Reformer
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Minn. governor considers COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state employees

By:   ['Ricardo Lopez', 'More From Author', '- August'], Minnesota Reformer
Date:None

Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said his administration is considering a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state employees, potentially following the lead of a growing number of private employers and the federal government, which are now requiring them.

“We are right now in negotiations, if you will, of trying to come up with what is the best, safest way to make sure our employees can return, keeping themselves, their families and others safe,” Walz told reporters. “In the next coming days, we’ll be prepared to announce what that plan will look like to get them back.”

Minnesota hospitals and health care organizations, including Mayo Clinic, HealthPartners, Allina Health and M Health Fairview, have announced vaccine mandates for their employees. The University of Minnesota says it will require students to be vaccinated once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives full approval to the vaccines. The U move would require approval from the Board of Regents.

State and local governments have begun moving towards requiring vaccines for employees amid the spreading of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible. Some GOP-led states, like Texas and Florida, meanwhile, have moved towards banning vaccine mandates.

If Walz, who in late June ended his use of emergency powers to deal with the pandemic, decides to move ahead with a vaccine mandate, he will face opposition from Senate Republicans who have long criticized his pandemic response.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, who is mulling a run for governor, expressed opposition Tuesday.

“Mandates are not the solution,” Gazelka said in a statement. “There are other options, such as working from home and distancing for those who choose to not be vaccinated. Vaccines are widely available for those who want them and are incredibly effective at preventing the spread and impact of COVID. But a mandate is divisive and unproductive.”

Currently, 66% of Minnesotans 16 and older have received a full COVID-19 vaccination series.

Concerns about the rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant have led the DFL-led House to reinstate a mask mandate for employees and legislators.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, cited a recent public health guidance published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that said fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in areas of high transmission.
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