Navajo Nation issues vaccine mandate for tribal workers
Aug 23, 2021, 6:49 AM
FILE -- A sign for Navajo Drive is seen against a cloud-darkened Sentinel Mesa in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah on the Navajo Reservation on April 30, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus' spread in part because they are so closely knit, that's also how many believe they will beat it. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — All Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 by the end of September or face regular testing. Tribal President President Jonathan Nez announced the new rules on Sunday. They apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, including those working for tribal enterprises like utilities, shopping centers and casinos. The tribe reported just 30 news cases on Sunday and no new deaths. It has been hard hit by the virus and tallied 32,252 COVID-19 cases and 1,397 deaths.
