Goodwin Asks City Council to Approve Funding for Vaccinated Employees

Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin announced today that she has sent a letter to all City Council requesting approval to give $500 to every City of Charleston employee who is fully vaccinated. Employees must have at least two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see our COVID-19 cases rise in the City of Charleston and Kanawha County. We are seeing case numbers equal to or greater than where we were this time last year, and the current trends are alarming” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “The City of Charleston has 778 employees, 622 of those are considered essential workers. We serve the public every day and it is not only our job to keep the public safe—but we need to keep our employees safe.”

Mayor Goodwin will ask Council members to approve an allocation of American Rescue Plan funding to support giving either a $500 cash payment or $500 Health Savings Account contribution to eligible employees.

If passed by City Council on September 7, City employees will have until October 31, 2021, to submit their vaccination cards to the City’s Human Resource Department to participate in this program. Goodwin expects the total cost of the proposal to be approximately $450,000 if all City employees participate.

On August 24, 2020, Kanawha County had 370 active cases of COVID-19. Currently there are 842 active cases in the County.

While anyone who is not vaccinated is required to wear masks inside City buildings, it is strongly recommended that everyone wear a mask while inside City buildings or while attending City events.

As a reminder, vaccination clinics are taking place at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.