You will not need a vaccine passport to access San Joaquin County parks, county buildings or county-operated facilities such as San Joaquin General Hospital.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on a 4-0 vote Tuesday with Supervisor Kathy Miller absent adopted a resolution barring any county agency from requiring people accessing county property to show proof they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
That means a trip to Micke Grove Park Zoo or dropping by Stockton Metro Airport including accessing businesses such as restaurants operating there will not be allowed to require showing vaccination cards to enter.
Supervisor Chair Tom Patti, who introduced the resolution, made it clear he is not an anti-vaxxer and that COVID-19 is “very real” given people he has known that have died from the coronavirus as well as the 1,681 that have lost their lives in San Joaquin County so far to the virus.
Patti noted that those that have had COVID typically enjoy a higher level of protection against catching it again than those who are vaccinated.
Patti is among the 96,869 San Joaquin County residents who have tested positive for COVID. And among those he was in the category of people that were severely sickened.
In his case, Patti said his personal physician advised him against getting vaccinated emphasizing he had the best possible protection from contacting it and successfully battling it.
Patti indicated he wants his colleagues to explore whether an ordinance would allow them to extend the same prohibition against requiring vaccine passports to gain access to places such as wineries, stores, sporting events, other business, and schools that are in the county but not within one of San Joaquin County’s seven cities.
He noted such a move might not be 100 percent allowed under state law which is why county counsel has been tasked with researching it. One definite area the county may not be able to exert such influence are public schools.
Historically — and not just during the pandemic — the state has tight control over what schools can and can’t do and what say local jurisdictions such as cities have in school-related concerns. School construction, for example, is outside the purview of local governments. Instead plans, approval, oversight, and inspections are controlled by the State Architect’s Office.
Patti noted the board started discussing the resolution they adopted Tuesday before Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his mandate earlier this month for all students in public and private schools as well as teachers and support staff to be fully vaccinated essentially before the start of the next school year.
Patti — who represents Manteca north of Yosemite Avenue, Lathrop north of the San Joaquin River and areas of Stockton — said the board was responding to what people wanted, including a number who are fully vaccinated.
“We (the board) listened to the people,” Patti said.
He criticized mandates for vaccine passports that are in place or being pursued at best being government overreach and at worst micromanaging people’s health by essentially forcing them — especially if they have been sick from COVID — to submit to vaccines that may not benefit them in order to access county and other public concerns.
Patti said based on studies requiring those who have been sickened by COVID to be vaccinated in order to access public venues is clearly not following the science.
Had he not become ill from COVID, Patti said he would have been vaccinated.
Currently 58.5 percent of the overall county is fully vaccinated with 8.5 percent partially vaccinated.
The fully vaccinated rates as of Tuesday for various cities was 90.5 percent for Escalon, 86.4 percent for Lathrop, 83.1 percent for Tracy, 73.0 percent for Manteca, 70.9 percent for Stockton, 68.8 percent for Lodi, and 65.8 percent for Ripon.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabuiletin.com
