All employees must be vaccinated by Sept. 29

WINDOW ROCK

On Sunday, a new executive order was signed that calls for all Navajo Nation employees and workers at chapters and enterprises to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 29.

This mandate applies to all regular, part-time, and temporary employees.

Anyone who fails to provide proof of full vaccination will be considered unvaccinated and will be required to submit a negative test result at least once every 14 days.

President Jonathan Nez said, “The bottom line is that we do not want to have another large surge in new COVID-19 cases that would harm our health care system and lead to more lives lost. This new vaccine mandate will help to keep employees safer and give those who are not able to receive the vaccine the option to get tested more frequently.”

The president’s office reports that 83% of executive branch employees are fully vaccinated, but this percentage needs to be increased due to the higher transmissibility of COVID-19 variants.

“We cannot afford to shut down the government again,” Nez said. “We have to continue providing direct services to the people.”

On Sunday, Navajo Nation health officials reported 33 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 32,252 on the Nation.

No deaths were reported and the total is 1,397 people who have died from the virus.

On Thursday, the Navajo Area Indian Health Service’s Chinle Service Unit reported a total of 5,877 cases; Shiprock reported 5,456; Gallup, 5,130; Tuba City, 3,907; Fort Defiance, 3,845; Crownpoint, 3,098; Kayenta, 2,864; and Winslow, 2,056.

On Sunday, the state of Arizona reported 3,307 news cases. New Mexico and Utah will issue their reports later today.