Council 4 Statement on Vaccine Rollout Changes

Council 4 Executive Director Jody Barr issued this statement in response to Gov. Lamont's Feb. 22 announcement regarding changes to the State's vaccine rollout plans.

Yesterday, the Governor announced that Connecticut's COVID-19 vaccine rollout will focus on age groups and educational personnel, a change that eliminates priority status for many essential workers.

We are deeply concerned for our frontline members in the state, municipal and private sectors who have put their lives on the line throughout the pandemic and remain left behind in this new iteration of the vaccination roll-out.

We will continue to demand that the Governor prioritize all of Connecticut’s heroic and essential workers for vaccination. We encourage you to continue raising your voices in calling for these needed changes. We will ask you to join us in actions designed to lift up stories of our front-line heroes and push the Governor to recognize that we're all in this together.

On a related note, we have been informed that vaccination plans for state judicial, corrections and public safety staff will continue to move forward without interruption or delay.

Furthermore, the Governor has accepted the demand presented by our Board of Education Union Coalition to develop a school-based vaccine rollout that will positively impact employees represented by our union, including paraprofessionals, custodians and maintainers, nurses, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and school secretaries.

While we appreciate the Governor taking steps to vaccinate educational and public safety workers, we must work together to do more for the thousands who have worked throughout the pandemic to provide vital services to Connecticut’s residents. 

The governor and state policy leaders must keep other essential workers in the 1B category. We are committed to this fight for everyone's safety and well-being.

In solidarity,
Jody Barr, Executive Director
Council 4