Gov. Hutchinson: The Anti-Mandate Argument Isn’t ‘Practical’ or ‘Principled’

EXCERPT:

HUTCHINSON: "Well, absolutely, it does indicate that. And it's not just there, but our health care workers. Many of our hospitals have put in a requirement for vaccines and the rate goes up. So, yes, there is an effectiveness there. And so, let me make it clear that when I say I don't believe we ought to be engaging in mandates, I'm speaking of the government mandates, whether it's a federal government mandate or a state government mandate. And the states are sometimes coming in and saying, employers should not have the ability to impose a vaccine requirement on their workers. To me, that's the wrong direction as well. It's not practical in terms of creating that debate, but it's not principled either. So, I am a defender of the employer's right to provide a healthy workplace. You would have just as many workers say, I don't want to work there because it's not a healthy workplace, because not everybody's going to be vaccinated. The employers are in a tough position. They should have the prerogative to make those decisions and I support that."