Do you qualify for an exemption to Washington's COVID vaccine mandates? Here's what you need to know

Hundreds of thousands of Washington workers will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18. If they’re not, they could be fired.

That’s because of two mandates Gov. Jay Inslee issued in response to surging cases and hospitalizations across Washington, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

 

The first mandate, issued on Aug. 9, applies to most state employees and thousands of health care workers in the private sector. The second mandate, issued on Aug. 18, applies to thousands of employees in the state’s K-12 schools, universities and colleges, and childcare centers.  

Washington is currently averaging more than 3,000 new cases a day and health officials say hospitalizations have reached an all-time high. The Delta variant is particularly dangerous to the unvaccinated. At a Wednesday news briefing, state Secretary of Health Umair Shah said 95% of those now in Washington hospitals with COVID were not vaccinated when they were admitted.

The only way workers can avoid being vaccinated without being fired is to receive a medical or religious exemption. Personal or philosophical exemptions are not permitted under the mandates

Here’s what we know about the medical and religious exemptions to Washington’s new COVID vaccine mandates.

How do I go about requesting an exemption?

Start by talking with your employer. The process for acquiring an exemption varies depending on where you work. It also depends on what type of exemption you’re applying for.  
 
For example, applicants seeking a religious exemption may be asked to fill out a form or answer a series of questions from a human resources representative. They may need to do both in some instances.

In an email, governor spokesperson Mike Faulk said the state will not back-check exemption applications, saying, “we assume employers will do this correctly.”

Do I qualify for a medical exemption?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people have a right to seek a medical exemption from a mandatory vaccine. However, there are no known medical conditions that absolutely prevent a person from getting a COVID-19 vaccine. What medical conditions do qualify vary by institution, and the decision will ultimately be left to your employer.

Below are a few conditions for which an employer may grant a medical exemption:

Vaccine allergies: A common ingredient in pharmaceutical products, Polyethylene glycols (PEG) are used as a stabilizing agent in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The substance comes in many forms, and a person may be allergic to one or multiple.

Someone who is allergic may experience anaphylaxis after receiving their shot, which can be fatal in a small percent of cases. This is why you’re asked to wait 15 minutes before leaving a clinic after receiving a vaccine — you’re being monitored for anaphylaxis. People have also been known to be allergic to polysorbate, which is a substance used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Health experts say such allergies are rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two to five people in 1 million have experienced anaphylaxis after receiving a COVID vaccine. That means you’re only slightly more likely to experience anaphylaxis after getting a COVID shot than you are to be struck by lightning.

Cancer: Most people with cancer don’t mount an immune response to vaccines. However, that does not mean vaccines are dangerous for them — there is no indication that they’re unsafe — it simply means the vaccines don’t work well for them. This is why some health care providers have delayed administering COVID shots to cancer patients to a time when the vaccines may show more efficacy, such as between rounds of chemotherapy.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS): Some institutions provide exemptions for MIS, a rare but severe side effect of COVID more often found in children. The condition can inflame internal organs such as the heart and lungs.

Pregnancy: People who are pregnant have also been known to receive exemptions for mandatory vaccines in rare cases. However, current evidence suggests that COVID vaccines do not increase the risk of miscarriage or other complications.

Here’s the takeaway: You may be able to have your doctor document that you should receive a medical exemption for whatever reason, but that in no way guarantees that your employer will grant it.

Do I qualify for a religious exemption?

People have a right to seek a religious exemption under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which forbid prejudice against people based on their religious beliefs.

But this is a thorny issue. Advocates for the mandates have voiced concerns that people without strong religious convictions will seek a religious exemption to avoid getting a vaccine.

“Not every employer will have the exact same approach, but it’s important that what they do stays in line with the law,” said Faulk, the governor’s office spokesperson. “An employee would be asked questions and the assumption is they are answering honestly.”

Again, whether you qualify for a religious exemption depends on your employer. Different institutions have different methods for assessing the validity of your request.

For example, the state Department of Transportation’s religious exemption form asks two questions, which require a person to mark either “yes” or “no.” The first: “You assert that you have a sincerely held religious belief or religious conviction that prevents you from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.” The second: “You affirm/agree that you have never received a vaccine or medicine from a health care provider as an adult.”

There’s a disclaimer below the questions that reads, “In some circumstances, WSDOT will need to obtain additional follow-up information about your strongly held religious belief(s). WSDOT will reach out to you if additional information is needed to process this request.”

Faulk told Q13 Fox that a person’s answer to the second question would likely require follow-up, saying that if a person answered “no,” their employer might ask more questions to get a better understanding of that person’s history and how their religious beliefs influence their choices. He said the state recognizes that religious beliefs change over time.

There is widespread agreement that most religions don’t explicitly oppose vaccination — the Church of Christ, Scientist and the Dutch Reformed Church are the exceptions — but individual beliefs vary from person to person regardless of what religion they practice.

Many have said they object to getting vaccinated because cells derived from the tissue of aborted fetuses were used to test the efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and such cells were used to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But many religious groups — most notably, the Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention — have said that getting the vaccine is morally acceptable.

Why aren’t personal or philosophical exemptions allowed?

Such exemptions have historically been allowed for other mandatory vaccines, which are typically required for students entering school at the daycare, K-12 and university levels in Washington.  

For example, personal and philosophical objections were allowed for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine until the state Legislature axed them amid a measles outbreak in Washington in 2019.

Faulk said that personal or philosophical exemptions are not protected by law, which is why they're not allowed under the mandate. 

“The governor did not want any additional exemptions beyond what’s required under law,” he said. “It’s important as many people as possible get vaccinated to keep their communities safe.”