Vaccine Mandates Would Put Thousands Out Of Work: Gov. DeSantis

GAINESVILLE, FL ? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody support more than 200 city of Gainesville employees who oppose the city's mandate that all employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The employees have filed a lawsuit against the city, which has given all workers until Sept. 30 to be vaccinated or face termination.

Lt. Jon Cicio, a member of the Gainesville Fire Rescue and a federal search-and-rescue specialist, said he feels betrayed by the city he's devoted 16 years of his life to serving.

He said he worked on the front lines throughout the pandemic, and left his wife and 10 children (including four adopted children and an 8-month-old foster child) at home to spend a week searching for victims of the condominium collapse in Surfside from June 27 to July 4. Now, he said, he will likely be fired because he doesn't believe he should be forced to get a vaccination.

He maintained that many frontline workers, like himself, have already had the coronavirus and now have natural immunities that protect them.

"We are not anti-vaccination. We're anti-mandate. We shouldn't be forced to take a vaccination we don't need," Cicio said. "There is science and studies that is being ignored, studies saying natural immunity provides more protection than the vaccine."

An Aug. 6 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refutes this claim, maintaining that vaccinations offer higher protection than antibodies from previous COVID-19 infections.

Cicio was among four city employees who spoke at a news conference Monday led by DeSantis.

"You have people who've worked for police and worked for fire. They've worked this whole time," DeSantis said. "While a lot of these politicians were on Zoom and not going out and doing anything, these folks were there protecting us day in and day out. You don't just have to fire people who have been serving faithfully over this issue, over what's basically a personal choice about their individual health."

He noted that on May 3 he signed Senate Bill 2006 that prevents private businesses and government agencies from requiring vaccinations.

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The governor said mandates like the one passed by the Gainesville City Commission by a 4-3 vote on Aug. 5 flouts that law, and he will respond by fining that governmental body $5,000 for each violation.

"That's millions and millions of dollars in potential fines," he said.

He said he's equally incensed following President Joe Biden's executive order issued Sept. 9 requiring vaccinations for employees of federal government agencies, as well nursing homes that receive federal dollars and hospitals that receive federal Medicaid and Medicare funding.

This will affect 15,000 nursing facilities and 50,000 hospitals nationwide employing more than 18 million workers.

"What we are seeing out of Washington, D.C., and local governments like the city of Gainesville and Orange County should alarm Floridians, and raises important questions ? if you can have people like firefighters who put lives on the line every day forced to either lose their jobs or get the vaccine regardless of immunity, how does that protect our community or keep us safer? It doesn?t," DeSantis said.

"This is political. It?s about using government power to control. We?re going to protect these jobs, we?re going to protect livelihoods, and we?re going to protect families. These big government mandates strip away people?s rights to make the best decision for themselves, but we are going to protect Floridians from federal and local government overreach," DeSantis said. "That is why I signed SB 2006 in May ? because Floridians, not any governmental entity, are responsible for taking charge of their personal health.?

Between local government vaccination mandates and Biden's executive order, DeSantis said Florida could face a major shortage in nursing staff, police, firefighters and other frontline workers.

"We're going to have thousands and thousands of people who could be losing their jobs simply because of a very intrusive and, I believe, illegal policy," he said. "Suffice it to say, nobody should lose their jobs over this issue. The last thing you should want to do is plunge people into destitution who have been faithfully working all this time."

Prior to the news conference, Moody filed a legal brief supporting the court challenge filed by municipal employees against the city of Gaineville and requested the court grant emergency relief on the basis that the mandate will result in the firing of essential police officers and firefighters.

"This is not about vaccine," she said. "This is about how much power do our government officials have when we have never given them the power to do something like this. It is unlawful. It is directly conflicting Florida law, and it's putting lives on the line. It is unconscionable that we would trust these folks to decide to throw themselves in front of a bullet for the safety of others but we won't let them make a decision about their own health."