Idaho business group to Legislature: Don’t tell us what to do with COVID-19 vaccines

The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, a business lobbying group representing 300 Idaho businesses, on Friday wrote a strongly worded letter to Idaho legislative leaders expressing its opposition to the government interfering in a business’ decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace.

The letter, addressed to Idaho Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder and House Speaker Scott Bedke, pushes back on calls by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who is running for governor, to call the Idaho Legislature back into session to pass legislation that would prohibit businesses from mandating employees to be vaccinated.

“As usual, Lt. Governor McGeachin is the one out of touch with Idaho voters, pandering to a vocal minority to score political points in her race for governor,” the letter reads. “The facts are that Idaho voters (across all spectrums) do not want the Legislature telling private businesses how to run their companies.”

IACI backs that up with a poll showing nearly two-thirds of respondents said the Idaho Legislature should not make laws that attempt to tell private businesses what they can do. Among Republicans, that number dropped slightly but was still 63%.

Only 23% agreed that, “the Idaho Legislature should make it illegal for private businesses, including hospitals, to require COVID vaccinations.” Among GOP voters only, that number was 29%.

In addition, the poll found 78% of respondents agreed with the statement, “Idaho politicians should not tell private businesses what to do.” Among GOP voters, that number increased to 86%, according to the poll of 400 likely Idaho voters.

IACI commissioned GS Strategy Group, which conducted the poll from July 27-29. Results have a margin of error of 4.9%. Responses were from Boise, Twin Falls, Spokane and Idaho Falls and included Democrats, Republicans and independents.

“While some Idahoans may not support employers requiring employees to get a COVID vaccine, the last thing they want is for the Legislature to engage in the issue,” according to the letter. “Idaho’s economy is booming because we are the least regulated state in the nation. Idaho employers need to be able to keep producing to keep the economy moving, and they cannot do that with a repeat of last year’s lost productivity due to employees becoming sick with COVID-19.”

The debate over vaccine mandates by employers has been roiling since last month, when Saint Alphonsus, St. Luke’s and Primary Health announced they were requiring employees to be vaccinated — or be fired.

It came at a time when vaccine uptake was slowing in Idaho, and the delta variant of the novel coronavirus was making its way into the state. New cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths have started to tick up, and health and public officials have been urging unvaccinated people to get vaccinated in short order to head off a surge of COVID-19.

But opponents have opposed such mandates on the grounds of liberty and the right to make personal health decisions and have called on the government to step in against business mandates in the name of preserving personal liberty.

Nationally, more and more non-health-related companies are announcing vaccine requirements: Morgan Stanley, Google, Facebook, Netflix, BlackRock and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others, according to CNN Business.

The Department of Justice last month concluded that federal law does not prohibit public agencies and private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccines that are under emergency use authorization.

IACI’s letter also points out that the vaccine was “developed under a Republican administration, has been proven safe and effective by every metric and is the path to making sure our economy survives in the near term.”

“We continue to support your position that a return of the Legislature on this issue would be an improper role of government,” the letter concludes. “Thank you for standing strong against the misguided political pressure.”