In-the-News Update [Issue: Basic Freedoms]

A San Francisco Police Officer shares the repercussions of choosing to forgo a COVID vaccination back in 2021. Joel Aylworth was officially fired from his department on March 28^th, 2022, after filing for a religious exemption. Aylworth claimed that he is a Christian man and does not believe in injecting himself with biological substances, especially when the virus had been shown to not actually been harming people within his age group. He claimed that his department mandated masks for their officers and mandated testing for those who had gotten COVID or were in contact with an individual with the virus. It was not until the vaccine was readily available that the San Francisco Police Department mandated all officers receive the vaccination. He expressed his religious exemption on August 19, 2021, many months after research showed the vaccine did not protect against transmission. His exception was only approved for a month until all 150 of the officers who asked for exception were denied and told they would be fired should they forgo getting the vaccine. Aylworth claimed he continued to refuse and was later placed on a 30-day unpaid administration leave, the reasoning being “being unable to perform essential job functions.” He was then suspended, stripped of his star and ID card, issued a stay-away order from his department, and officially fired. But only after working as an essential worker for a year and a half through the pandemic before the vaccine became an issue.