Councilmembers Express Caution
April 12, 2021
At mass vaccination sites near sports stadiums and other high-occupancy buildings, the push to vaccinate residents of California is growing in intensity as lawmakers seek to prioritize essential workers.
After the proposed timeline was established by the San Carlos city management, Councilmember John Dugan reflected upon the process.
Dugan said, “I’m certainly empathetic to frontline workers, and they certainly have exposed themselves to hazards in the past year, but I wish, perhaps, that the council had considered this a year ago. It just feels like we’re towards the tail end of getting folks that protection they need to be in safer positions.”
Additionally, Dugan stressed that an immediate response to the lack of vaccinated essential workers, rather than a drawn-out legislative process that could take months, would be more important in returning to a greater sense of normalcy and safety.
Dugan said, “Instead of a legislative process that will take several months at a minimum, […] and if there’s anything we can do immediately, as a city, to give these folks their vaccine, I think that could potentially be more impactful and helpful in this situation.”
The possibility of a county-wide ordinance was also brought up in the San Carlos city council discussion. Councilmember Ron Collins relayed the contents of his conversation with District Supervisor Don Horsley of San Mateo County, conveying the lack of enthusiasm at the idea of a county-wide ordinance.
In an interview with Scot Scoop, Horsley cited the fact that the county, based on their jurisdiction, could only affect two supermarkets in the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County as the main reason that the supervisors chose not to pursue the policy.
Horsley said, “[San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors] doesn’t have that sort of authority. If the stores were shutting down, then we could step in because there would be an emergency, but right now, we can’t do anything.”