LEESBURG, Va. — The Leesburg Town Council voted Tuesday night to require all municipal employees to be fully vaccinated.
There are religious and medical exemptions, and those who do qualify for an exemption will undergo weekly testing.
The town has a 90-day implementation period for employees to either get vaccinated or receive a medical exemption. Those are the only two options for municipal employees.
"This is not a matter of ego and it should not be a political issue, I'll tell you that right now," Leesburg Town Council member Neil Steinberg said. "For my money leaders of all stripes, whether something as lowly as town council members all the way to the top has a responsibility for a consistent national policy."
Initial discussions over a possible mask mandate were met with opposition from several Leesburg Police officers as they warned members of the Town Council during a September council meeting that some officers could quit if the mandate is passed.
“This decision has the potential to decimate LPD. Our town could lose a lot of amazing police officers,” Leesburg Police Department employee Josh Carter said.
However, in a letter sent Thursday to Town Council members, eight Leesburg Police Officers expressed support for the vaccine mandate and told town officials many of them are already vaccinated.
Those officers also said in the letter that the department will not be destroyed if this goes into effect.
Last month, President Joe Biden announced a new federal vaccine requirement for as many as 100 million Americans as part of an effort to increase vaccinations and curb COVID-19 cases.
Affected workers will have a 90-day notice of the effective date of the policy.
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