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Safety officials hope lifting Massachusetts vaccine mandate will increase staffing


FILE - A health worker administers a dose of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.  Moderna on Thursday, April 28, 2022,  asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a long-awaited move toward potentially opening shots for millions of tots by summer.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - A health worker administers a dose of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. Moderna on Thursday, April 28, 2022, asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a long-awaited move toward potentially opening shots for millions of tots by summer.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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In Bristol County, it's a struggle to find a police department, a nursing unit or even a correctional facility that's fully staffed, and some people in the public safety field blame it on the vaccine mandates that have been in place for over a year now.

"Public safety has never had lower numbers, they've had a really hard time recruiting and retaining and when you lose 1,000 officers across the board that has a huge impact on safety, and a huge impact on the budget and forced overtime and really just moral," said Guy Glodis from the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.

Gov. Maura Healey said she plans to officially end the public health emergency on May 11. That same day, it plans to eliminate the vaccination requirement for all executive branch employees.

Policies that were put in place by former Gov. Charlie Baker during a time when COVID-19 cases were at their highest.

Back in 2021, Baker defended the policy stating, "I want people who are face to face with public folks who work for the Commonwealth to be comfortable in knowing that those folks are vaccinated."

With new tools to combat the virus and lower transmission levels, Healey felt it was the right decision to lift the mandate.

"We’ve reached the point where we can update our guidance to reflect where we are now," Healey said in a statement.

As departments like New Bedford police and the Bristol County Sheriff's Office work to recruit new officers using signing bonuses and retention pay, public safety officials across the state say the lifting of the vaccine mandate could provide the boost that many agencies are looking for.

"I think it's welcome news on the public safety front and I think it's welcome news for many of the departments that desperately need additional staff," Glodis added.

While the governor is being applauded for taking action on this issue, several people told NBC 10 today that more needs to be done to appropriately compensate the workers that were fired for NOT getting the vaccine.

They are hoping she will have other announcements on this issue in the coming months.

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