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Board member opposes vaccine mandate; Madison County board debates masking and treatment outreach
Summary
At the Oct. 20 meeting, Health Committee chair Mike Babcock told the board he would not support a county employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate and cited the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act; members then discussed indoor masking and the county's work to publicize monoclonal antibody treatments.
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — During new business on Oct. 20, 2021, Mike Babcock, who chairs the county Health Committee, said he would not support a mandatory COVID‑19 vaccination requirement for Madison County employees and cited the Health Care Right of Conscience Act as a policy basis for opposing mandates.
Babcock addressed colleagues on the board: "I would never support such a mandate that would ... impose any state or federal initiatives that attempt to impose such a mandate." He read language from the Health Care Right of Conscience Act and said the board should respect employees’ conscientious decisions about vaccination and ensure that no county employee loses their job for refusing the vaccine.
Board member Michael Holliday raised concerns about mask usage and suggested clearer signage about the county’s masking posture, asking whether the entrances should note that citizens have a choice to wear masks. Chairman Kurt Prenzler acknowledged members’ personal choices and highlighted the county’s public outreach on therapeutic treatment, saying the board has been working to inform the public that monoclonal antibody infusion treatment "has been saving lives" and that the Health Board had been promoting that option.
Holliday urged broader caution and said, "Over 95% of the people, who have died from Covid, did not wear a mask." The exchange did not produce any change in county policy; no motion to adopt a vaccination requirement or to alter masking signage was introduced during the meeting.
The board recessed following the evening’s business and will reconvene Nov. 17 for the property tax levy session.
