Borough Assembly approves amended COVID-19 vaccination resolution
Posted by Maria Dudzak | Dec 23, 2020
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on Monday approved an amended resolution regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.
There were two separate COVID-19 resolutions up for consideration. The first, proposed by Borough Mayor Rodney Dial, asked businesses not to deny services based on a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status or refusal to provide that information. That resolution failed Monday night due to lack of motion.
The second, proposed by assembly members Judith McQuerry and Austin Otos, encourages citizens to get the COVID-19 vaccine. They argued vaccinating the Ketchikan community would help the economy reopen, while also recognizing an individual’s right to choose.
Mayor Rodney Dial Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska (KINY) The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly voted to pass a resolution on Monday night which encourages citizens to get vaccinated for COVID-19 while recognizing the individual right of citizens to choose whether or not to receive one.
Assembly members Judith McQueery and Austin Otos presented the resolution as a compromise that could be for everybody. They hoped that they could acknowledge the need for mass-vaccination against COVID-19, while also accepting that people can choose the right course of action for themselves.
Another resolution, proposed by Mayor Rodney Dial, sought to urge borough businesses to refrain from discriminating against any individual by denying that person access to goods or services based upon their COVID-19 vaccination status or failure to provide that information.