Thousands gather in Olympia to protest vaccine mandate, Monday last day to get the shot
OLYMPIA, Wash. (KOMO) — Many state workers and private sector healthcare workers have until Monday to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to stay employed.
They have to be fully protected against the virus by Oct. 18, which means the only option left would be to get the Johnson and Johnson shot by Monday.
As a result, thousands came to Olympia on Sunday to protest the mandate.
Aside from some who don't believe in the vaccine's effectiveness, many feel like it should be their choice to get the shot.
“What we do from now on will determine whether we live in freedom or in a dystopian hell hole,” one speaker at the protest said.
But for the state workers that are at the protest, the clock is ticking.
Tyler Miller, who helped organize today's rally, believes this mandate approach is all wrong.
“If there’s going to be any sort of requirement for state workers related to this,” Miller said, “it’s got to come from the state’s representatives, through the people’s representatives.”
But health researchers, like Ali Mokdad, feel these mandates are necessary to protect everyone from the virus.
"It's very important because it's the only way we can save lives and protect our economy," Mokdad said.
For him, crowds protesting and voicing their anger isn't surprising.
"This is not new for us in the United States,” he said. “People have always complained about a new measure of public health, what we really need to do is educate the public."
Part of that education, according to Mokdad, is showing that these vaccines have been administered to millions of people and have proven to be extremely effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
"There has been a lot of misinformation out there and we have been on the defense and not the offense," Mokdad said.
