About 43 percent of the roughly 2,400 deputies in the San Diego County Sheriff's Department have not shown proof of COVID-19 vaccination to their employer and are now required to submit to weekly testing, department officials said this week.
The testing requirement, which took effect Sunday, also applies to employees who requested a vaccine exemption.
Deputies who have not provided proof of vaccination to their employer will be allowed to remain on the job under the department's rules, so long as they are tested for COVID as required.
The Sheriff's Department did not disclose the number of employees who asked for exemptions, despite repeated requests from The San Diego Union-Tribune, nor did the department provide details about the exemption process.
In a recent letter to members of the Deputy Sheriffs' Association of San Diego County, President David Leonhardi said a medical exemption would require a note from a doctor.
For religious exemptions, employees would need to check a box on a form noting that the employee has a "sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance" cited as the reason for not getting the vaccine, according to Leonhardi's letter. The department would then grant the exemption without additional documentation or inquiry, according to the letter published last month in the union's monthly magazine.
Lt. Amber Baggs, a department spokesperson, did not confirm the union's assertions but acknowledged the department will accommodate employees to a degree.
"We care about our employees and respect their right to request an exemption due to medical or religious reasons," Baggs said in an email. "We are making accommodations for our employees, but also require our employees to take a weekly COVID test if they haven't shown proof of vaccination by uploading their card."
According to department figures, about 67 percent of all 4,046 employees provided proof of vaccination. Among deputies, the rate was 57 percent. And among jail staff, it was 73 percent.
Jail staff were already required to show proof of vaccination or undergo weekly testing under a rule imposed in late August.
The department earlier this month was criticized for participating in an event in Temecula billed as a job fair for unvaccinated people. A photo that circulated on social media showed department recruiters at the We Are Still Heroes job fair.
Baggs said the department initially was "not aware it was an anti-vax type of event."
"Once (recruiters) learned it was, they notified their supervisors and then left the event," Baggs said.
The Sheriff's Department's testing requirement, the result of negotiations with the deputies' union, comes as the city of San Diego on Dec. 1 imposed a mandate that requires employees, including police officers, to be fully vaccinated or face the possibility of losing their jobs. Exceptions would be made for employees granted religious or medical exemptions, according to city officials.
As of Dec. 2, about 65 percent of officers were vaccinated, while about 450 officers requested an exemption, according to the city.
At least 160 officers did not show proof of vaccination or request an exemption as of early this month. The city gave them — and all other non-compliant city employees — until Jan. 3 to comply, take a leave of absence, retire or resign. If they don't comply, the city plans to terminate their employment.
Mayor Todd Gloria's staff has said the city's Human Resources Department will review requests on a case-by-case basis under state and federal law, as well as city policies.
In the letter to deputies, Leonhardi described the Sheriff's Department's rules as a victory.
"We all know this likely won't be the end of our dealings with COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination mandates, but it's a good sign that we've avoided some of the strictest mandates like the ones we've seen in some other police departments in this County and across the State of California," he said.
More than 900 sheriff's employees have contracted COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, including two who died, according to the latest figures, published on the department's website Nov 19.
As of Saturday, COVID-19 had infected about 2,200 inmates, according to the latest jail figures. The department has acknowledged two inmate deaths related to COVID-19, but advocates and family members say the virus has killed at least three others.
Earlier this month the department faced a surge in COVID-19 infections among both inmates and staff. The surge prompted several protocols aimed at controlling the spread of the virus, including quarantine and temperature checks for newly arrested people. The department also said it was providing protective gear to staff and inmates and sanitizing cells regularly.
Nationwide, COVID-19 was the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths last year, killing 182 officers, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
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