With the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the vaccination strategy in Massachusetts is shifting from cajoling, pleading, and incentivizing (gift cards, free coffees, and lottery prizes) to more explicit forms of pressure. 

Politicians of all stripes, even laissez-faire Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, are embracing vaccine mandates for public employees and encouraging private employers to follow suit. There is some resistance, but most of the public sector unions raising concerns about mandates appear to be seeking some concessions at the bargaining table. 

Under Baker’s mandate, he ordered all state employees be fully vaccinated by October 17 or face dismissal or disciplinary action. He said exceptions would be made for those with medical disabilities or those with sincere religious beliefs that would prevent them from getting vaccinated.  

Now opponents of the religious exemption are trying to capitalize on the current vaccine moment. They are mobilizing behind legislation that would do away with the religious vaccine exemption available to parents entering their children in kindergarten. 

Under current state law, children must be vaccinated for a variety of diseases before entering kindergarten unless a doctor certifies that a vaccination would be dangerous to their health or their parent or guardian “states in writing that vaccination or immunization conflicts with his sincere religious beliefs.”

Rep. Andy Vargas of Haverhill is pushing legislation that would do away with the religious exemption and a group of four doctors representing the Massachusetts chapter of the American College of Physicians came out in support of the legislation on Sunday. They said they have personally treated patients for serious diseases that could have easily been avoided with a vaccine. They described the religious exemption as a “dangerous loophole that parents are using to keep their kids unvaccinated.” 

According to state records, medical exemptions are rare, on average less than 0.2 percent of the children entering kindergarten in Massachusetts during the 2020-2021 school year. Religious exemptions are more common, averaging 0.9 percent across the state but as high as 7.8 percent in Dukes County, 2.7 percent in Franklin County, 2.4 percent in Barnstable County, and 1.4 percent in both Hampden and Hampshire Counties.

The issue is a sensitive one, in part because “sincere religious beliefs” are not defined in the law and politicians in general are reluctant to encroach on religious freedom. For many, the issue comes down to a clash between science and religion.

At a hearing on Vargas’s bill in July, many opponents said doing away with the religious exemption would unfairly limit their freedom. Yet supporters of the bill said COVID-19 has illustrated how individual health choices can affect a broader community of people, particularly those with health issues that prevent them from getting vaccinated. 

Most analyses of the issue indicate most religions have no prohibition against vaccinations, suggesting those who are claiming the religious exemption are doing so for personal reasons. 

A person who identified himself as Dr. Ed said as much in a comment he attached to the op-ed by the four doctors opposed to the religious exemption. “My religious beliefs are whatever the hell I say they are, and that means that your religious beliefs (or lack thereof) can be whatever the hell you say yours are,” he wrote.

BRUCE MOHL 

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Gig question confusion: A California judge struck down a gig worker law passed by voters that is somewhat similar to a proposal Uber, Lyft, and other companies are now trying to put before voters in Massachusetts. The big question is whether Attorney General Maura Healey, whose office must decide whether the Massachusetts question passes constitutional muster, will take the same position as the California judge and deal a blow to companies seeking to have their workers viewed as independent contractors instead of employees.

— The California judge based his ruling on a number of factors, but the one with most relevance to Massachusetts hinges on the question of relatedness. Relatedness means all elements of the question have to be related so a voter who likes one provision isn’t forced to accept other unrelated provisions. With the gig worker question, one provision would protect tech companies from liability exposure while another deals with worker classification. 

— The politics of the gig worker question is also getting interesting. Healey’s office must give the question a green light if it is to make it on to the ballot, but the attorney general herself is a bit conflicted. She is already suing Uber and Lyft in Massachusetts for violating state wage laws by treating their workers as independent contractors. Her former chief of staff is also leading the campaign against the gig worker question. Healey said on Monday that her office’s  certification decision on the ballot question and her suit against Uber and Lyft have nothing to do with each other. She said the “personal policy views of myself or anyone in office play absolutely no role in the certification decision.” Read more.

OPINION:

Pfizer vaccine full approval: Jennifer Girotto,  an associate clinical professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut, explains what the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, as opposed to emergency use approval, means. It’s largely a question of time, as full use authorization gives regulators far more data to evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine. Read more.

Transit tweak needed: James Aloisi, the former secretary of transportation, urges federal lawmakers to tweak pending legislation to authorize the expenditure of federal funds for transit operations and not just capital projects. Aloisi says without funds to cover operating expenses, transit systems such as the MBTA will continuously be tempted to underfund routine maintenance. 

— Aloisi says the lack of federal funding for maintenance leads to overreliance on fare revenue to cover costs, which tends to push fares up and out of reach of many riders. Since 1991, according to Aloisi, the Massachusetts gas tax has risen by 14 percent while transit fares across modes have increased by 250 percent. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine mandate for all state workers will likely end up before arbitration panels or courts as some unions challenge the move. (Boston Globe) Attorney General Maura Healey says the governor’s mandate is legal. (GBH)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Holyoke’s auxiliary police chief mysteriously resigns after a traffic stop that, according to State Police, ended with a warning. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

The director of the CIA held a secret meeting on Monday in Kabul with the de facto leader of the Taliban, the Washington Post reports. 

Kathy Hochul was sworn in just after midnight as New York’s 57th – and first woman – governor following the downfall of Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in the wake of a series of sexual harassment allegations. (New York Times)

ELECTIONS

Rep. Andy Vargas of Haverhill launches a campaign to replace Sen. Diane DiZoglio, who is running for state auditor. (Eagle-Tribune)

Acting Mayor Kim Janey is not having the cake walk some expected in her quest to win a term as Boston mayor, says Joe Battenfeld. (Boston Herald) 

EDUCATION

The state board of education will consider today whether to impose a statewide mask mandate on K-12 schools for the start of the school year. (MassLive)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

Lawyers on both sides are now recommending sanctions for the three lawyers accused of withholding potential exculpatory evidence in one of the state’s drug lab fiascoes. (WBUR)

Residents weighed in yesterday at the first of five scheduled public sessions as Worcester weighs permanent implementation of a police body camera program. (Telegram & Gazette)

MEDIA

The Berkshire Eagle is buying a new printing press. (Media Nation)

PASSINGS

Jimmy Hayes, a 31-year-old professional hockey player with a wife and two young children, died at age 31. No details on the cause of death have been released. Hayes played with the Boston Bruins and was a star at Boston College. (WBUR)