With the Vermont Legislature aiming for a somewhat normal, but safe, in-person session in 2022, lawmakers and legislative staffers must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 come January, or complete weekly PCR tests, before they can gain entry to the Statehouse.
The Covid-19 mitigation policy was adopted unanimously Wednesday by the Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee. The policy mirrors the existing rules for executive branch employees. The definition of “fully protected” against Covid-19 does not include booster shots, but that is subject to change.
The 2021 legislative session was almost entirely remote. Lawmakers hope the 2022 session, which starts Jan. 4, will be different. While Covid-19 remains an ongoing threat, lawmakers aim to balance public health with maintaining open, transparent state government operations.
Since the Legislature adjourned its remote session in May, several developments have occurred that change what protocols may be necessary in Montpelier, said House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington.
“We have all had access to the vaccine. Rapid tests have become more available, and we have learned more about how this virus spreads,” she said. “Over the summer and fall, we’ve had committees, task forces and study committees meet in person. And through that, we’ve learned about how safety protocols have worked and what concerns remain and things we need to work on.”
In addition to requiring vaccines or weekly PCR tests from lawmakers and staffers, the policy adopted Wednesday strongly recommends all legislators and staffers — vaccinated or not — have rapid Covid-19 tests on a weekly basis, both the day before the start of their workweek and the morning before they arrive.
Two rapid tests are generally recommended because rapid tests are less sensitive than PCR tests.
As has been the policy at the Capitol Complex since September, everyone participating in or observing legislative activities will be required to wear face masks, regardless of vaccination status.
Visiting members of the public will be strongly urged to present proof of vaccination before entering legislative spaces but not required. They will also be given the option to take a rapid test and are discouraged from entering if they exhibit any Covid-19-like symptoms.
[Looking for data on breakthrough cases? See our reporting on the latest available statistics.]
Lawmakers said they are working on ways to space out seats in typically cramped committee rooms, reduce capacity in rooms to limit crowding and move meetings from small rooms in the Statehouse to larger rooms located throughout the Capitol Complex.
Timothy Lahey, an infectious disease physician with the University of Vermont Medical Center, told lawmakers Wednesday that the highest risk in the Statehouse will be situations of close proximity where masks are removed. Eating in groups in the Statehouse cafeteria — a typical watering hole for Vermont politicos in normal times — will be particularly high risk, he said.
But in committee rooms or legislative chambers, as long as there is a high vaccination rate and everyone keeps their masks on, he said the risk is negligible.
He pointed to hospitals as an example, where staff are largely vaccinated, take regular Covid-19 tests, wear masks, work near one another and even Covid-19 patients. By and large, he said, the health care workers who come down with Covid-19 get it from the community, not at the hospitals where they work.
With the Covid-19 situation changing constantly, the joint rules committee plans to reconvene two weeks into the legislative session to make sure its policy still feels adequate. They did not set a trigger for taking the session entirely remote should a Covid-19 outbreak occur, deciding instead to make those calls on a case-by-case basis.
“I think it’s really important for us to understand that we’re going to have to be flexible because we don’t know what Jan. 3 will look like, or 4th, for that matter,” Krowinski said. “It’s important that we test this policy out.”
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