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SR 02-08-2022 4A City Council Report City Council Meeting: February 8, 2022 Agenda Item: 4.A 1 of 9 To: Mayor and City Council From: David White, City Manager, City Manager's Office Subject: Study Session on Mandating Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination at Local Businesses and City Facilities Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council review and comment on the Study Session on Mandating Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination at Local Businesses and City Facilities and the strategy outlined by the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center. Executive Summary The City of Santa Monica’s COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has managed the City’s internal and community-facing COVID-19 response operations since March 2020. The EOC has many responsibilities, including serving as a liaison to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH), overseeing a team of Health Ambassadors to educate on and enforce County COVID-19 requirements within Santa Monica, hosting COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites, and supporting a safe workplace in City facilities by administering staff contact tracing, ensuring distribution of personal protection equipment, regular communications with City departments, and other activities. Per City Council direction on January 11, 2022, the City’s Emergency Operations Center team has been asked to assess whether current conditions warrant consideration of an indoor vaccination mandate for Santa Monica businesses to improve community health. This Study Session provides findings and presents recommendations moving forward. 4.A Packet Pg. 151 2 of 9 Background LA County DPH is the public health authority for almost all cities and unincorporated areas within the County of Los Angeles, including the City of Santa Monica. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Santa Monica has closely followed and aligned DPH’s Health Officer Orders. Currently, the County of Los Angeles Health Officer Order has maintained augmented risk reduction measures for specific business sectors. On November 3, 2021, DPH implemented a requirement that patrons of all bars, breweries, wineries, distilleries, nightclubs, and lounges provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for entry into the facility to obtain indoor service. LA County DPH has also required full vaccination or proof of negative COVID-19 viral test result for entry at indoor and outdoor mega events. Restaurants and other businesses may voluntarily implement indoor vaccination requirements for its staff and patrons and LA County recommends this for restaurant establishments due to increased risk of transmission where people are indoors and unmasked. All Santa Monica businesses are required to comply with the local Health Officer Order. In Fall 2021, three jurisdictions within Los Angeles County implemented additional vaccination requirements in expanded sectors, including all food/beverage establishments, gyms/fitness venues, entertainment/recreation venues, personal care establishments and City facilities. The City of Los Angeles and the City of West Hollywood fully implemented this requirement on November 4, 2021, with the City of Culver City following on November 29, 2021. These actions preceded COVID-19 Omicron variant community transmission and subsequent case surge that now appears to be subsiding. In December 2021, the Omicron variant rapidly became the dominant COVID-19 variant in Los Angeles County. Unlike previous COVID-19 variants, the highly contagious Omicron variant has an increased ability to infect fully vaccinated persons and transmit between vaccinated persons, especially in environments where additional risk mitigation 4.A Packet Pg. 152 3 of 9 measures, like masking, are not utilized. While it has been shown that the COVID-19 vaccination booster provides the best protection against Omicron variant infection and hospitalization, no guiding health agency has changed the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include the booster dose. As Omicron has increased in transmission in LA County, the difference in case rate ratios between unvaccinated and vaccinated groups has significantly decreased. Based on LA County data from December 25, 2021, unvaccinated persons have a 1.6 times higher chance to contract COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons without a booster dose, but a 3.8 times higher chance to contract COVID-19 compared to persons who are fully vaccinated and have received the booster. Both fully vaccinated persons and those with booster shots have a much lower chance of being hospitalized due to a COVID-19 infection compared to unvaccinated persons. In response to Omicron variant cases, LA County Department of Public Health changed its Health Officer Order to require all employees wear medical-grade masks when working indoors and also changed its quarantine requirements, no longer allowing an exemption for persons who are fully vaccinated. However, no sectors have been newly included in the region’s indoor business vaccination mandate. 4.A Packet Pg. 153 4 of 9 As of February 1, 2022, LA County COVID-19 data metrics are showing rapid and sustained decline, including daily cases, daily case rate, positivity rate, and hospitalizations. At the end of January 2022, the number of daily cases saw a 45% decrease in one week and the daily positivity rate decreased to under 10% for the first time since December 23, 2021. Based on Omicron variant trends in other countries, this trend is expected to continue throughout February and into spring 2022. Discussion One of the main goals behind COVID-19 vaccination requirements is to increase vaccination rates among residents. The City of Santa Monica strongly urges all residents and the employees of all Santa Monica businesses to get a COVID-19 vaccination and booster as soon as possible. As of February 1, 2022, 91% of all Santa Monica residents over the age of 5 years old have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination. This is significantly higher than LA County’s current vaccination rate of 81.3%. Since the start of the Omicron surge, Santa Monica’s Emergency Operations Center has focused attention on two specific areas related to vaccination with the largest improvement opportunity. To date, only 51.1% of eligible Santa Monica residents over the age of 12 years old had received a COVID-19 booster and 58.3% of children between the ages of 5-12 years old had received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. To work to increase vaccination rates in these two categories, the Emergency Operations Center has focused attention by hosting two community vaccination clinics and concentrated public education through social media, digital newsletters and other forms of communications. Another goal behind COVID-19 vaccination requirements of business patrons is to decrease the amount of COVID-19 transmission in a community. City Staff examined the impact that the COVID-19 indoor business vaccination requirement achieved in West Hollywood and Culver City in comparison to Santa Monica. Vaccination rates, change in 7-day adjusted case rates, and change in 14-day adjusted hospitalization rates were examined for each jurisdiction at different points in the implementation of the policy 4.A Packet Pg. 154 5 of 9 requirement as well as after the Omicron variant surge had started. All three jurisdictions have comparable data and overall, there were no dramatic impacts to key COVID-19 data points that can be directly tied to the announcement or implementation of an indoor business vaccine requirement. 7-DAY ADJUSTED CASE RATE Jurisdiction 9/10/2021 10/7/2021 11/4/2021 12/31/2021 Santa Monica 92 56 81 1668 Culver City 121 35 64 1659 West Hollywood 105 72 80 1637 14-DAY ADJUSTED HOSPITALIZATION RATE Jurisdiction 9/10/2021 10/7/2021 11/4/2021 12/31/2021 Santa Monica 7 4 3 2 Culver City 4 0 6 12 West Hollywood 2 32 6 5 FULL VACCINATION RATE –AGES 5+ Jurisdiction 9/10/2021 10/7/2021 11/4/2021 12/31/2021 LA County 62.5% 64.7% 66.7% 71.3% Santa Monica 73.8% 75.0% 76.2% 80.7% Culver City 76.4% 78.4% 79.7% 86.2% West Hollywood 71.0% 72.2% 73.4% 75.9% * Dates include first date of announcing vaccination requirements for LA area businesses, first dose requirements, full vaccination requirements, and post- Omicron impacts At this time City staff do not believe that it is necessary to move forward with a business indoor vaccination requirement beyond the current LA County Health Officer Order due to the following reasons: • The City has historically aligned with the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Health Officer Order and the Health Officer has not expanded the existing Health Officer Order to include other sectors (e.g. restaurants) in response to the Omicron variant surge 4.A Packet Pg. 155 6 of 9 • Other public health departments within the Los Angeles region, the City of Long Beach and Pasadena, have also not expanded existing Health Officer Orders to include other sectors in response to the Omicron surge • Lack of conclusive data suggesting that this type of policy impacts community COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, or vaccination • 93% of Santa Monica residents have started their vaccination series against COVID-19, surpassing the benchmark previously identified to limit community transmission of vaccine-susceptible variants • With the Omicron being the dominant, local COVID-19 variant and causing significant infections among vaccinated persons, at this point in time, there is lack of evidence that a business indoor vaccination policy that only requires individuals to be fully vaccinated reduces COVID-19 transmission among unmasked employees or patrons • If a local emergency order or policy does not align with the local health authority’s Health Officer Order, it is unlikely that any related projects (outreach materials, staff time for enforcement, etc.) will be eligible for FEMA reimbursement and would have a financial impact if sustained City staff recommend that the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center team and City Manager reevaluate a local business indoor vaccination policy, in coordination with LA County DPH, should any of the following thresholds be met: • The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health expands its current indoor vaccination requirement to include other sectors based on epidemiological and surveillance data that suggests this requirement would be effective at reducing COVID-19 community rates or increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates 4.A Packet Pg. 156 7 of 9 • A surge of a new/past dominant variant in LA County shows increased susceptibility to existing “fully vaccinated” COVID-19 vaccine regimen • The definition of “fully vaccinated” changes to include a booster shot (either the existing booster or a new booster) and Santa Monica’s resident population’s associated vaccination rate is lower than 80% If it is determined that an indoor business vaccination requirement would provide vaccinated persons additional protection from COVID-19 infection and/or help facilitate an increase in vaccination rates, it is recommended that any the policy be presented by emergency management staff to the City Manager and then adopted through an amendment of the local Emergency Order. City staff also recommend that the City continue existing and new Omicron surge measures to better support local businesses to reduce Omicron variant workplace transmission and prevent staff absenteeism. Recently implemented and new recommended prevention measures include: • Maintain the activation of a Business Liaison position in the Emergency Operations Center until the Omicron surge reaches an average of 500 cases/week • Continue Economic Recovery outreach calls for local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and other business stakeholders on monthly basis that include COVID-19 situation update and opportunity to share concerns, questions, and feedback for City staff. • Continue to provide important updates to all Santa Monica businesses via the COVID-19 e-newsletter and the City’s Economic Recovery Webpage 4.A Packet Pg. 157 8 of 9 • Promote the recent reimplementation of Curbside Zones to allow for easier pick- up and delivery services until February 28, 2022 • In partnership with Santa Monica Travel & Tourism and PPE Unite, push out free hand sanitizer and medical-grade personal protective equipment resources, including 25,000 Kn95 masks, 10,000 surgical masks, and educate businesses on resources available through direct Health Ambassador education • Host a Business Resources Webinar to highlight support resources (e.g. State of CA COVID-19 employee paid sick leave) and to share best practice on how businesses may voluntarily implement vaccine requirements for their staff and/or the public • Activate additional Health Ambassadors, either from City departments or as- needed personnel, to facilitate education/enforcement of the January 17, 2022 LA County requirement for all businesses to provide medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff and for staff to wear this PPE when working indoors Financial Impacts There is minimal financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of recommended action. The cost of an educational webinar is not expected to exceed $1,000.00. Re-implementation of curbside pick-up for businesses would create a temporary loss of meter parking revenue estimated at $125/meter per month. All City other costs are directly tied to existing LA County Health Officer Order requirements and therefore will be eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Future City budget impacts may include required additional staffing or other costs to support enforcement of this policy mandate if it should extend beyond the emergency declaration and become part of normal City operations. 4.A Packet Pg. 158 9 of 9 Prepared By: Lindsay Call, Chief Resilience Officer Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. 02082022_Addendum to 4A B. Written Comment 4.A Packet Pg. 159 From: David White <David.White@santamonica.gov> Sent: Monday, February 7, 2022 11:05:08 PM To: David White <David.White@santamonica.gov> Cc: Susan Cline <Susan.Cline@santamonica.gov>; Lindsay B. Call <Lindsay.Call@santamonica.gov>; Joseph Lawrence <Joseph.Lawrence@santamonica.gov> Subject: Response to Question Regarding Item 4 -- Vaccine Mandate Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and City Council, On Friday, we received an email Lyn Greenberg asking for information in which the staff report regarding the vaccine mandate was based. The following is some additional information for your consideration, and I want to acknowledge Lindsay for pulling this together. All data used to analyze LA County’s current situation and case/hospitalization/vaccination impacts on regional jurisdiction vaccination policy are publicly available at the websites below: • LA County COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard • LA County Vaccination Data Dashboard • CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report – “SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization Among Adults Aged +18 Years, by Vaccination Status, Before and During SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant Predominance – Los Angeles, California, November 7, 2021 – January 7, 2022 In the staff presentation tomorrow night, we will include where data was obtained. Data for City of Pasadena and City of Long Beach are represented in LA County’s Vaccination Dashboard but not LA County’s COVID Surveillance Dashboard. The following links can provide more information on Long Beach and Pasadena: • Long Beach Health & Human Services COVID-19 Orders • Long Beach COVID-19 Data Dashboard • Pasadena Public Health Department COVID-19 Orders • Pasadena COVID-19 Data Dashboard Historically, we have found that Pasadena and Long Beach closely align with LA County Department of Public Health. We have attempted to obtain peer-reviewed studies showing the impacts of hyper-local vaccination requirements (i.e., West Hollywood and Culver City), both on vaccination rates and cases/hospitalizations. There are minimal resources on this topic and some challenges with the scientific analysis related to the timing of policy implementation in the US and rise of the Omicron variant. In addition to reaching out to our local hospitals and LA County Department of Public Health, we have reached out to business and code enforcement leaders in jurisdictions that have these mandates to determine their effect and ability to enforce the regulations. Information obtained from these sources has been more anecdotal. Please let us know if you have any additional questions. David White City Manager santamonica.gov Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 4.A.a Packet Pg. 160 Attachment: 02082022_Addendum to 4A (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:Council Mailbox Sent:Tuesday, February 1, 2022 10:40 AM To:councilmtgitems Subject:FW: For 2/8 Council meeting.   From: Robin Brodowsky <rbrodowsky@avc.edu>   Sent: Friday, January 28, 2022 9:11 AM  To: Council Mailbox <Council.Mailbox@santamonica.gov>  Subject:   EXTERNAL  No vaccine passport.  We the ppl speak, and we are the authority , not you we put you in and we will take you out, if you  cant get it right.   Item 4.A 02/08/22 1 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 161 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:jzhawk13 <jzhawk13@protonmail.com> Sent:Friday, February 4, 2022 6:34 PM To:Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems Subject:freedom of choice. no segregation and discrimination EXTERNAL      From a doctor at John Hopkins..  THIS IS MY VIEW ON VACCINE MANDATES!    Dr. James Kelly, Virologist. John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore MD. 01/12/2022   "Among all the vaccines I have known in my life (diphtheria, tetanus, measles, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis, meningitis  and tuberculosis, flu, etc), I have never seen a vaccine that forced me to wear a mask and maintain my social distance,  even when you are fully vaccinated. I had never heard of a vaccine that spreads the virus even after vaccination. I had  never heard of rewards, discounts, incentives to get vaccinated. I never saw discrimination for those who didn't. If you  haven't been vaccinated no one has tried to make you feel like a bad person. I have never seen a vaccine that threatens  the relationships between family, colleagues and friends. I have never seen a vaccine used to threaten livelihoods, work  or school. I have never seen a vaccine that would allow a 12‐year‐old to override parental consent. After all the vaccines  I listed above, I have never seen a vaccine like this one, which discriminates, divides and judges society as it is. And as  the social fabric tightens… It's a powerful vaccine! It does all these things except IMMUNIZATION. If we still need a  booster dose after we are fully vaccinated, and we still need to get a negative test after we are fully vaccinated, and we  still need to wear a mask after we are fully vaccinated, and still be hospitalized after we have been fully vaccinated, it  will likely come to “It's time for us to admit that we've been completely deceived."    Sent from ProtonMail mobile    Item 4.A 02/08/22 2 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 162 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:jzhawk13 <jzhawk13@protonmail.com> Sent:Saturday, February 5, 2022 10:59 AM To:Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems Subject:facts, freedom and family...and more EXTERNAL      Hope everyone is having a great day.  Yesterday, the CDC ACIP vaccine advisory meeting. They met on approving the new technology injection, postmarket  data does not come back to 2023 for this injection. They just recommended it for 6 months old to 4 when data clearly  showed more problems with the vaccine group and placebo they just act like they don't hear it. From my experience  after watching these meetings for the last 7 years nothing has changed and they are working for pharma.     Also, regarding Covid vax, FDA wanted to wait 75 years on the safety of this injection. Luckily, the people I have been  working along side of for the last 7 years won the lawsuit. FDA wanted to wait till we are dead to know the truth. Go to  this non profit and see all the lawsuits they have won over the years.  Icandecide.org    Note, really think about how little they are studying this new technology injection pushing on us and our precious  children. There is so much details being cencored from the people.    Don't forget vaccines are a liability free product since 1986 because they were going bankrupt from all the vaccine  injuries and deaths and almost a trillion dollar industry. in 1986, In vaccine company's got immunity they put Health &  Human Services in charge of vaccine safety and They were supposed to form a task force, make them safer, and do  reports. July 2018, Robert F Kennedy Jr won a lawsuit against Health and human services because they did non of this in  32 years.  Remember, Pharma owns the media and Facebook and...our censoring information.   Smear campaigns are a real thing make sure to not just take bumper sticker slogans and make them your thoughts.    Sadly, pharmaceutical industry has 3 lobbyists to one representative has bought the news, bought the schools, bought  the movie industry every aspect of our life... celebs... teen influencer    All these years everyone cheering about the "Me Too" Movement, but then throw it out the door for a foreign injection  that we can't refuse otherwise one get segregated and discriminated. Equality curriculum thrown out the door. People  kicked out of school or can't go into indoor restaurants if someone wants to say no to a foreign injection. This is all  crimes against humanity. Watch Senator Johnson 5 hearings and you will understand and just MAY save someone's life if  faced with decisions with VIRUS and Vax. World renowned doctor, scientist, a group of 17000+ doctors and experts  screaming from the rooftops about what is happening in hospitals, and the real data not just bumper sticker slogans.  Everyone should watch this for their own families sake. Informed consent is smart to be able to make very important  decisions.  https://rumble.com/vteasz‐covid‐19‐hearing‐with‐senator‐ron‐johnson‐worlds‐top‐scientists‐and‐doctors.html    No one should be forced to wear a mask, test, or take a foreign injection to move around society. Products need to work  for the person using them and a person shouldn't have to use a product to make someone else's work. We know vax  don't stop a person from getting covid, does stop transmission and vax have same viral load as unvaccinated per CDC  and scientists from all areas. Show it in the data from around the world ᩢᩣᩤ  Masks and vaccines, testing are all EUA products. All this is illegal and wrong.  Item 4.A 02/08/22 3 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 163 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 2 Stop all protocols and mandates. Needs to be freedom of choice. People need to use products and buy products that  work for them just like the shirt you choose. You do you I do me. Seems reasonable. Especially when death is a side  effect on the insert and breathing back your co2 and bacteria into our lungs in harmful.  healthy free living individuals to be restricted and muzzled, tested And holding a job for an injection in injection and  living in a mental fear is abuse And an abuse of poWer most of all.  I am now politically maroon. I was a lifelong Democrat until a few years. Look at which States are locked down, wearing  masks, and look closely at which party is voting for government to raise our children. governmen berucrats pass bills  giving 12 year olds the right to take a injection without parental permission.  This is only one of the examples of this type of legislation. Dems are voting for this. Only 5 states are in the "state of  emergency" Our governor and mayor living the high life in immuno compromise Magic Johnson suite at SoFI.  Think about if a child is being fed propaganda by big Pharma who's in our schools, cartoons. shows..news get a vaccine  and has a reaction and Parents don't know and won't be able to help them and and they are left with the bills and  devastation of vax injuries and consequences.  Look closely and stop being a apart in this. Do the right thing now! Stop all mandates for citizens and city employees. Get  on the right side of history.  These mandates will be remembered for being on the wrong side of history mandating vaccines on your amazing city  employee employee.  Make an agenda item to make this right. This is caring about your city employees and city residents.  Make this right.  Freedom of choice,  Jill Hawkins  Other important place to subscribe to stay informed   Ca.childrenshealthdefense.org * Icandecide.org   and watch the weekly medical new show thehighwire.com   Since the release of vaccine.  ⲉⲊⲋHeart Attacks 269%  ⲉⲊⲋCancer 300%  ⲉⲊⲋPericarditis 175%  ⲉⲊⲋMyocarditis 285%  ⲉⲊⲋPulmonary Embolisms 467%  ⲉⲊⲋCerebral Infarction 393%  ⲉⲊⲋBell's Palsy 319%  ⲉⲊⲋGuillain‐Barre 250%  ⲉⲊⲋImmunodeficiencies 275%  ⲉⲊⲋMenstrual Irregularity 476%  ⲉⲊⲋMultiple Sclerosis 487%  ⲉⲊⲋMiscarriage 306%  ⲉⲊⲋHIV 590%  ⲉⲊⲋChest Pain 1,529%  ⲉⲊⲋLabored Breathing 905%  ⲉⲊⲋNeurological Issues 1052%  Sent from ProtonMail mobile  Item 4.A 02/08/22 4 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 164 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 3 Sent from ProtonMail mobile  Sent from ProtonMail mobile  Item 4.A 02/08/22 5 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 165 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:jzhawk13 <jzhawk13@protonmail.com> Sent:Sunday, February 6, 2022 7:58 AM To:Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems Subject:freedom of choice EXTERNAL  If you do not support the truckers, IT’S OKAY because:  If mandates get lifted I would like to remind you.... you can still stay home. No one will rip the mask off your face, no one  will force you to dine in at a restaurant, you can drop your children off at their leisure activity and wait in your car, you  can still say no to family gatherings and events, you can choose to get whatever \/ you want, you can live within your  comfort zone and NO ONE will stop you. We will not judge you for your choice ‐ we will just be glad you have one. That  is the point of FREEDOM of choice. You might be comfortable where you are … but we are very comfortable moving on  with our lives.  Sincerely  A member of the small fringe minority with unacceptable views   Reposted🇨🇦⌀⌁⌂⌃⌄🇺🇸  Sent from ProtonMail mobile  Item 4.A 02/08/22 6 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 166 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:Council Mailbox Sent:Tuesday, February 8, 2022 11:17 AM To:councilmtgitems Subject:FW: Vaccine mandate     From: Mary Duprey <mary.duprey@gmail.com>   Sent: Sunday, February 6, 2022 8:30 PM  To: Council Mailbox <Council.Mailbox@santamonica.gov>; David White <David.White@santamonica.gov>  Subject: Vaccine mandate    EXTERNAL    Dear City Council Members: I am aware that you voted on this last month. I am writing to you now just in case you are considering voting on this in the near future. I strongly oppose the proposed vaccine mandate for restaurants, movie theaters, and other indoor businesses for the following reasons: They are unnecessary; they are ineffective, and they are detrimental to the Santa Monica economy. I believe they are unnecessary as the number of Covid cases in our country and in Santa Monica are in decline right now. Several countries are beginning to loosen restrictions and mandates, including the UK, Denmark, and other Scandinavian countries. I assume that restrictions and mandates will loosen in our country as well. Right now under our current Santa Monica policy of masking indoors, things are going well. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. The mandate would also not serve the purpose for which it is supposedly intended - that is to stop the spread of Covid. It is not an effective approach, as statistics are showing that there are many cases of Omicron among vaccinated people. Vaccinated people can get the virus and can transmit it, so vaccination is not preventing the spread of Omicron. There is no point, therefore, in requiring that people have the vaccine in order to enter restaurants, movie theaters, etc. In regard to our economy, our business community has suffered greatly during the past two years. Santa Monica once had a thriving business community. Under the tight restrictions of the past two years, many small businesses closed for good Item 4.A 02/08/22 7 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 167 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 2 because they were not able to serve the number of customers that they had served prior to Covid. They lost an enormous amount of business and could not survive. The remaining businesses have been struggling to hold on. Part of what has helped them is the influx of people from other parts of LA who would like to be able to eat indoors without showing proof of vaccination. These are not dirty, disease carrying people. They are healthy people who have money to spend and would like to spend it in Santa Monica. Why would we try to prevent that? Our economy depends in large part upon our small businesses. We should do all that we can to not only keep them afloat, but to help them thrive. In the end, I feel that it should be up to the individual businesses and the individual residents to take whatever actions they deem to be the most appropriate. Some businesses have already made the decision to require customers show proof of vaccination before they can eat indoors. That is their prerogative. For those Santa Monicans who don't feel safe eating in Santa Monica because there is no mandate, they can go to the restaurants that do require proof of vaccination - or they can eat outdoors. There are some residents who don't feel safe no matter whether there is a mandate or not. They still won't eat indoors - period. That is their prerogative. Please don't try to play the role of big brother or big sister in protecting our community. We are grown ups and can decide for ourselves what steps we need to take in order to stay safe. Furthermore, our businesses should also have that right - whether they want to serve unvaccinated people or vaccinated people or both. So again, I urge you to vote against a proof of vaccination mandate if this matter ever comes before the city council again. Thanks for your time and consideration in this matter. Sincerely, Mary Duprey, a Santa Monica resident Item 4.A 02/08/22 8 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 168 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:Mike Terranova <mterranova@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, February 8, 2022 2:00 PM To:councilmtgitems Subject:Regarding item # 4A for the City Council Meeting: February 8, 2022 EXTERNAL    Regarding item # 4A for the City Council Meeting: February 8, 2022: Study Session on Mandating Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination at Local Businesses and City Facilities    I was unsurprised and uninspired to read city staff's recommendation NOT to implement a vaccine mandate for indoor businesses and city facilities. If it were a recommendation it would have been implemented earlier when positivity and hospitalization was on the rise, like the City of LA and other municipalities within California- near and far. Within the staff report there was no discussion of behavior change by implementing vaccine mandates, impact to ICU or contacts with LA DPH and local hospitals, or any endeavor to explain the 220 person staff outbreak and contact tracing outcomes of COVID-19 described in news reports.     By now, early Feb 2022, with positivity and hospitalizations falling, recommending the implementation of required proof of vaccination to enter local businesses and city facilities would be "too little, too late."    Our Director of Emergency Services and City Manager, David, originally hails from the City of Berkley. That municipality currently has lower test positivity and lower COVID-19 hospitalization rates, yet has had since Sept 2021 a vaccine mandate for indoor businesses. Berkley also has a higher percentage of residents fully vaccinated.    As a city, staff must make recommendations to protect vulnerable populations, specifically children, immunocompromised, and those ineligible for vaccination from community spread.    Is city staff doing everything possible by not recommending a mandate? The emergence of new variants of COVID-19, such as Omicron, have been traced to areas where vaccination rates are low.    Today only unvaccinated city staff are subject to COVID-19 surveillance testing, not vaccinated staff, despite the risk of breakthrough infection of staff which can have negative knock on effects to their unvaccinated family members under the age of 5.    I urge the City Council and staff to have a robust discussion on this subject and direct staff to amend the list of recommended actions made in the staff report.    Regards, Mike Terranova Santa Monica Resident    Item 4.A 02/08/22 9 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 169 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:Jane Wall <walljane@hotmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, February 8, 2022 3:24 PM To:councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox Subject:Items 4.A EXTERNAL    Hi Honorable Council Members,    I understand you are asked to comment on and review on the Study Session. (4.A)    Please consider making changes to the language used by including and referencing:     natural immunity which supersedes the vaccine.   suggest that council members read peer reviews studies that confirm requiring multiple boosters will  not harm or have negative efficacy on Santa Monica residents.   That the right to privacy is maintained in the same way that HIV and HepB status is private.   That there is always informed consent with the basis rooted in a right to choose WITHOUT  coercion,  bullying or discrimination.   That no guiding health agency has changed their definition of "fully vaccinated" to include the booster.   To cite the data to back up the claim that the vaccine provides the best protection against Omicron and  hospitalization.  thank you,  Kind Regards,  Jane Rainsford  Item 4.A 02/08/22 10 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 170 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate) 1 Vernice Hankins From:PNA90404 <pna90404@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, February 8, 2022 3:59 PM To:councilmtgitems Subject:Agenda Item 4A 02/08/2022 EXTERNAL    Dear City Councilmember and City Staff,     The PNA Board of Directors is writing this letter to inform you of our member’s viewpoint on your  consideration in implementing a vaccine passport for Santa Monica. Although we appreciate the sentiment  expressed by our Councilmembers to keep our residents safe we believe that a vaccine passport creates a  false sense of security and works to create division within our City. If the City Council wants to keep residents  safe, it should focus on improving public safety and addressing homelessness and mental illness that are  rampant in our streets. Residents don’t feel safe in our City and are constantly being verbally attacked or in  many cases physically attacked.      The City Council should focus on the issues that got them elected such as public safety, homelessness and  economic recovery and leave the political theatre that comes with a vaccine passport for Sacramento and  Washington DC. Thank you for  your time and consideration.     Sincerely,  PNA Board of Directors  Item 4.A 02/08/22 11 of 11 Item 4.A 02/08/22 4.A.b Packet Pg. 171 Attachment: Written Comment [Revision 1] (4963 : Study Session on a Citywide Vaccine Mandate)