PROOF OF VACCINE REQUIREMENT RESOLUTION ORAL COMMENTS AT COUNTY COUNCIL WORK SESSION

GREATER BETHESDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PROOF OF VACCINE REQUIREMENT RESOLUTION ORAL COMMENTS AT COUNTY COUNCIL WORK SESSION

January 18, 2022 

• Thank you. Ellen Coren, Chesapeake Public Strategies. Here today on behalf of the Greater Bethesda Chamber as the volunteer Vice President of Economic Development and Government Affairs.
  
• Thanks to Council President Albornoz for holding this work session. • Also want to thank Dr. Earl Stoddard and Jake Weissmann for working with us since the resolution was introduced.
  
• I'll speak to overall concerns that our members have expressed to us, then discuss some recommended amendments.
  
  • Even with these amendments, we remain concerned about the imbalance we see between the cost of this proposal and the limited actual benefits it may produce, given our very high vaccination rate.
    
  • We have coordinated our comments with the Greater Silver Spring Chamber, so we are in agreement with Jane Redicker's comments today.
    
• We understand the desire to keep our community safe and this is a priority for us as well. Through our Just Mask It campaign, our Chamber worked hard to help businesses implement the mask mandate and encourage their patrons and workers to comply.
  
• The resolution describes the mandate as a way to avoid closing businesses or imposing capacity limits. To that statement, our members say, "Please don't help us. You don't understand how our businesses operate; you don't know our unique challenges."
  
• We heard businesses testify just now about their challenges with severe labor shortages. This resolution exacerbates that problem.
  
• Today's packet includes examples of major cities that have instituted a proof of vaccine mandate. These are cities - not communities like Montgomery County.
  
  • For example, we don't have bars in the County. So, no one is already at the door carding people that can just add one more card check.
    
  • Those cities also have much lower vaccination rates than Montgomery County. New York, for example, had a rate only in the 60's when they 2 imposed the mandate. They had much room for improvement. This isn't the case in our County where 95% of residents have at least one dose of the vaccine and about 85% have the second dose.
    
• There's the practical reality to consider. Our member hotels saw their business increase when DC passed its proof of vaccine mandate and people moved their events from DC to Montgomery County. They began losing business to Virginia when people learned that our County was considering a similar law.
  
• With this resolution, the onus is on establishments to find reasonable accommodations for select unvaccinated people. How does a restaurant do this? Seat them outside in weather like we have had this week? Block off precious square footage, just in case they show up? And how do you decide which employees you will knowingly expose to unvaccinated patrons? Having said all that, we have several amendments to suggest:
  
  1. Push back the implementation date. We don't believe the County will be able to provide the support and resources that businesses will need in so short a time. And the businesses need time to gear up, figure out the staffing and train employees.
     
  2. Rather than put the onus on the establishment for screening guests at an event, we suggest making that the responsibility of the group or person that is actually hosting the event. You may recall that volunteers screened guests at the December Committee for Montgomery Breakfast and it worked well.
     
  3. Speaking of hotels, let's make it clear that the resolution does not apply to overnight guests. The way the resolution reads now, the hotel would be required to post people at every entrance, just to check the status of any person who enters, regardless of why they are there.
     
  4. Determine a sound way of showing a medical or religious exemption, perhaps requiring the unvaccinated person to produce a document certifying that the person is exempt.
     
  5. Include a sunset provision in the resolution. Please keep in mind that even with these amendments, we remain concerned about the impact of this legislation on our members, as compared to what we see as limited positive impact on the community.
     
• We look forward to continuing our discussions with the County Executive and the Council. Thank you.