Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s running for president, has made a bold move with her campaign’s hiring policy and has some mandates imposed on her staff.
Despite the fact that’s it is 2024 anyone looking to work for her team must be up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Now, if you’re browsing through job opportunities on the official Harris for President website, you’ll notice that each position comes with a list of responsibilities and qualifications. But here’s the kicker: under those qualifications, there’s a clear statement about the COVID-19 vaccine requirement. It reads, “Harris for President requires all employees to be ‘up to date’ on COVID-19 vaccination status as prescribed by the CDC as a condition of employment, unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law.”
But what exactly does “up to date” mean? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it depends on your age. For most people aged 5 to 64, being up to date means having received one of the latest COVID-19 vaccines—whether it’s from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax. If you’re 65 or older, the recommendation is to get two doses of the updated 2023-2024 vaccines. So, the Harris campaign is sticking closely to these guidelines to ensure everyone on board is protected.
Of course, there are some accommodations available. If you think you need a reasonable exemption from this policy, the campaign encourages you to talk to their HR department before showing up to the office.
This policy might remind some folks of the past federal vaccine mandates, which were officially lifted in May 2023 when the Biden-Harris administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency. But Harris’s campaign has chosen to keep these measures in place for her team, a decision that might raise some eyebrows, especially in light of recent studies.
Just think what will happen if she imposes medicare for all.
