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9/7/2021 Statement to Governor McKee regarding executive order on mandatory vaccines
The following is a statement sent this morning to Governor McKee by 33 representatives regarding executive orders mandating vaccines in certain professions:
 
Dear Governor Daniel J. McKee:
 
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic of the last 18 months, those professionals that were society’s first line of defense against the virus—among the many, our nurses, doctors, CNAs, police, fire, emergency personnel—were lauded as “heroes” and “saviors” during this historic time of crisis.  Undaunted and unvaccinated, these individuals performed their daily duties at great personal risk to keep the rest of us healthy and the rest of us safe.  
 
However, now some of those same “heroes” and “saviors” are facing the loss of employment due to state executive orders mandating COVID- 19 vaccinations prior to October 1st.  While we strongly urge all adults to get vaccinated, we also believe none of our “heroes” should be in the unemployment line should they make the personal decision to decline vaccination.
 
We, the undersigned members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, are respectfully calling upon Governor Daniel McKee to amend the October 1st deadline for termination of employment for those licensed professionals choosing not to be vaccinated, and to direct the Rhode Island Department of Health to develop appropriate guidelines for those individuals to retain their employment while maintaining the public health.
 
If appropriate governmental action is not taken within the given time frame to protect these workers’ jobs, we respectfully request Speaker Shekarchi to reconvene the Rhode Island House of Representatives, in concert with the Rhode Island Senate, to address this extreme and unjust mandate, and, moreover, to set parameters for any future state, municipal, and private sector mandates concerning the commerce of daily life in the era of COVID-19.
 
Representative Arthur J. Corvese
 
Representative Thomas E. Noret
 
Representative Julie A. Casimiro
 
Representative Patricia A. Serpa 
 
Representative Deborah A. Felella
 
Representative Charlene Lima
 
Representative Gregory J. Costantino
 
Representative Steven M. Casey
 
Representative Grace Diaz
 
Representative Anastasia P. Williams
 
Representative Camille Vella-Wilkinson
 
Representative Robert D. Phillips
 
Representative William W. O’Brien
 
Representative Robert E. Craven Sr.
 
Representative Edward T. Cardillo Jr.
 
Representative Bernard A. Hawkins
 
Representative Mary Duffy Messier
 
Representative Samuel A. Azzinaro
 
Representative Steven J. Lima
 
Representative Ramon A. Perez
 
Representative James N. McLaughlin
 
Representative Nathan W. Biah
 
 
Minority Leader Blake A. Filippi
 
Representative Brian C. Newberry
 
Representative Michael W. Chippendale
 
Representative David J. Place
 
Representative Robert J. Quattrocchi
 
Representative Sherry Roberts
 
Representative George A. Nardone
 
Representative Patricia L. Morgan
 
Representative Justin Price



For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923