Republican Leaders Candelora and Kelly statement on Gov. Lamont’s vaccine order

HARTFORD — House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora and Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly on Thursday issued the following statement regarding Gov. Lamont’s planned executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccination for most state employees as well as K-12 teachers and staff:

“We fear the governor may have opened a can of worms by issuing this executive order that will surely trigger many immediately unanswerable questions from workers and entities impacted by it—from how much it will cost employees who instead choose weekly testing to the scope of disciplinary action faced by those who fail to comply with this mandate altogether. Union leaders now sit in pole position to fill in many of those blanks, and we hope the governor’s administration during its conversations with state employee union negotiators will remain firm if talks extend beyond subjects such as disciplinary options and access to testing and vaccines.”