Gov. Charlie Baker has said he will not require state employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. But some Democrats, including those eyeing a run for governor, are speaking out in support of a requirement as people return to work. GBH News' State House reporter, Mike Deehan, joined GBH's Morning Edition on Tuesday to discuss the politics around vaccines.
State employees in Massachusetts number more than 40,000 people, so although Baker has the power to require vaccines, he is hesitant to enact a requirement on so many people. Deehan asked Baker yesterday why he won’t go that far.
“Baker told me he's not going to ‘play that game,’ as he put it, when it comes to potentially firing people for not being willing to take the vaccine,” Deehan said.
Baker told Deehan that he is concerned about a mandate. "The idea that we would take those folks and basically make them choose between their rent and their food on the table and all the rest when they have, in some cases, very legitimate reasons to be nervous about a government run program that's going to put a shot in their arm,” Baker said. “No, I'm not going there."
Deehan noted that Baker referred to legitimate concerns in some communities of color that are skeptical of government-run medical programs. But, Deehan said, the statement also reflected the political divide around this issue.
WATCH: Mike Deehan on Baker's stance on not requiring vaccines for public workers
“It's also one of the times where he's kind of sounding more Republican than usual, at least a lot more Republican than we usually hear on Beacon Hill,” Deehan said.
One prominent Democrat who has weighed in on the question is Attorney General Maura Healey, who is gathering speculation that she may run for governor. On Boston Public Radio last week, she said that public workers should be required to get the vaccine.
"You're there. You're paid by the taxpayer,” Healey said on BPR. “You have an obligation, whether it's delivering public health or public safety. You're interacting with the public — that's part of your job by definition".
Deehan noted that Healy later clarified her statement to say that it should be public employees first, and that she was speaking hypothetically around how she might act as governor.
“She's treading lightly on things like this, especially when there's specific powers of the governor,” Deehan said.
