By Ari Hoffman
Washington State workers across multiple agencies on Monday received forms for requesting a religious exemption for the now mandatory coronavirus vaccines. The forms asked the state employees to affirm or agree that they “have never received a vaccine or medicine from a health care provider as an adult.”
State workers in several agencies today received updated forms for requesting a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine. The forms ask the employee to attest that they "have never received a vaccine **or medicine** from a health care provider as an adult." #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/op6OHGN424
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) August 24, 2021
Since Washington Democrat Governor Jay Inslee’s announcement mandating vaccines for all state workers including teachers and re-imposing indoor mask mandates earlier this month, confusion has swirled around Inslee’s exemption for “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
I have reached out to the governor's office to ask whether this will be the official state guidance for all agencies and, if so, why taking medicine could preclude one from a religious exemption to the COVD-19 vaccine.
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) August 24, 2021
According to Brandi Kruse of Q13 Fox, other religious exemption forms such as ones from the Capital Region Educational Services District demand a signed statement from one’s religious leader attesting to their faith. Kruse noted that Inslee’s office said this particular form was not issued by the state.
Is the state really going to dictate whose religious beliefs are sincerely held? No, says public schools chief @chrisreykdal. #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/O2e4Xb5kJV
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) August 19, 2021
In a previous interview with Kruse, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal claimed that “There are no forces out there that are going to force people to go document the church they belong to, or get a signature from a member of the clergy or their synagogue or their mosque. There’s no role for us in that we will listen to employees who say, ‘I have a deeply held conviction about this core practice and I don’t take shots’ or ‘I’m not taking the shot’ and I’m going to honor that.”
"No, we're not going to fire a bunch of teachers": The head of Washington's public school system hints that many teachers and staff can easily get around the new vaccine mandate. #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/UeNAbybdFT
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) August 19, 2021
This too is a bunch of crap! I have never received a gene altering med. And, I will go to my maker with what he gave me – for better or for worse!