LOCAL

Lincoln County Board of Commissioners address vaccine mandates, need for tests and staff

Claudia L Silva
Carlsbad Current-Argus

The Lincoln County Board of County Commissioners voted to offer county employees COVID-19 tests and hire an administrator to aid in the state's reporting process on Jan. 18.

The board also decided to not require county employees to get vaccinated after the Supreme Court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could not impose vaccine-or-testing requirements on employers.

"We shouldn't be mandating anything," said District four commissioner Tom Stewart. "We need to get to the point where we treat this thing like any other illness."

Lincoln County Commissioner Tom Stewart offer the motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement with sheriff's deputies.

Employees working in health care facilities that receive federal funds through Medicare and Medicaid will still be required to follow vaccine mandates.

According to OSHA COVID-19 can be considered a work-related illness if it is contracted as a result of performing their work-related duties. OSHA  and the New Mexico Department of Health also require employers to report and keep records of all work-related injuries or illnesses.

The board discussed whether they should continue in-house testing, the need for testing supplies, personnel and a space to perform the tests.

"Why don't we just give five extra damn sick days to them on their sick leave?" asked district one commissioner Todd Proctor. "Let's move on. We don't need direction, we don't need to make a mandate, we don't need to make additional testing (available), we don't need to absorb the cost of this."

County officials said they have offered tests to its employees in case they are feeling sick. HR Director Brianna Ventura said the county received 80 rapid tests a few months ago but now has less than half of that.

The board agreed to use federal relief funds to purchase additional tests and hire help for the reporting process.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced plans on Jan. 17 to provide New Mexicans with over 1 million rapid COVID-19 tests every two weeks.

The Biden administration has also announced an initiative to provide Americans with at-home tests that can be ordered online and mailed directly to a person's home.

As of Jan. 11, Lincoln County had a COVID-19 positivity rate of over 19 percent, according to the NMDOH. The county also reported 104 new cases on Jan. 18.

Over 62 percent of adults 18 and over in Lincoln County are fully vaccinated and over 73 percent have received at least one dose.

Claudia Silva is a reporter from the UNM Local Reporting Fellowship. She can be reached at csilva2@currentargus.com, by phone at 575-628-5506 or on Twitter @thewatchpup.