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DC suspends unvaccinated first responders’ licenses as thousands apply for exemptions

Megan Cloherty | mcloherty@wtop.com

November 16, 2021, 6:15 PM

City leaders are sharing just how many first responders remain unvaccinated in D.C. long after the mayor mandated they get the shot.

Some 2,287 requests for vaccine exemptions have been submitted from the city’s health care workers, and they continue to come in, said Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, director of DC Health.

It’s a small amount of the population of which more than 70,700 have reported they are fully or partially vaccinated. However, roughly 10% of DC Fire and EMS workers are requesting exemption from vaccination.

“I think it’s 251 firefighters who have asked for a religious exemption. It does not mean they get it. It’s important that we deliberate carefully because any denial we make, I assume, will get challenged and appealed. So we’re very deliberative in the way in which you go about reviewing those exemption requests,” City Administrator Kevin Donahue said, breaking down the exemption review process.

All the letters, which the city refers to as a “notice of noncompliance,” have been sent out, Nesbitt said. The next steps will be a written reprimand, followed by suspension, then termination.

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