Virginia and Maryland announced separate vaccination requirements for state employees Thursday as COVID-19 cases continue to climb across the region.

Virginia’s order, which mandates COVID-19 vaccines for all state employees, is more far-reaching than Maryland’s, which only applies to workers in congregate settings such as health care facilities. 

The highly-transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus has driven an increase in cases in the region and across the country, and now all D.C.-area jurisdictions are seeing a level of coronavirus transmission categorized as “substantial.” In areas with this level of transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that residents wear masks in all indoor settings, regardless of their vaccination status. 

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Thursday that all state employees will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine — or, if they refuse to be vaccinated, provide a weekly negative coronavirus test result. The rules will go into effect Sept. 1, and will affect approximately 122,000 workers in the state, including those who work in state government offices and state universities and institutes of higher learning. It will not apply to employees of K-12 schools, since local governments have jurisdiction over them. 

Northam encouraged local governments and private companies in the state to institute similar vaccine mandates, emphasizing that vaccinations are the key to controlling the coronavirus pandemic and preventing severe illness from the virus. 

“There is no reason we need to see more suffering or more sickness,” Northam said in a press conference on Thursday. 

State officials say the vaccination rate among state employees is similar to that of the general population of Virginia, and approximately 72% to 73% of these workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

When asked whether he would consider a vaccine mandate for the general public, Northam said that he sees himself as being in charge of the state employees in Virginia. “That’s who I have control over,” he said. “I encourage businesses across the commonwealth of Virginia to follow that lead.”

Virginians who are looking to get vaccinated can visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA. At his press conference, Northam — who is himself a physician — addressed Virginians who may still be hesitant to take the shot. 

“Maybe you’re worried about side effects,” he said. “Maybe you wanted to wait and see how other people reacted to the vaccine. But I hope you will listen to me and hear me now. The time for waiting is over. Millions of people around the world have been vaccinated, and we are fine. 350 million doses have been distributed in the United States, including nearly 10 million right here in Virginia. So please, protect yourselves and the people around you. Get vaccinated.”

“We’ve all seen the news stories and Facebook posts from people who are very sick with COVID who wish they would have gotten vaccinated,” added Northam. He mentioned the Bristol, Va. resident Travis Campbell, who shared an urgent series of pleas over Facebook video from his hospital bed, urging people to get vaccinated so they did not have to experience a severe and terrifying COVID-19 case like him. 

In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) mandated vaccines for state employees who work in congregate settings.

The order applies to employees who work in facilities operated by the Department of Health, Department of Juvenile Services, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Employees will be required to show proof they are vaccinated, and workers must receive at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by September 1. Unvaccinated workers will be subject to COVID-19 testing multiple times a week and will be required to wear face masks, Hogan said. 

The governor stopped short of requiring vaccinations for all state employees. He said the mandate was targeted at departments where employees are putting “people in the greatest danger” by remaining unvaccinated. 

“These actions are being taken to further protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Hogan said.

He also urged the state’s 227 private nursing homes to institute vaccine mandates for their employees. Infection rates are not increasing among vaccinated nursing home residents, Hogan said, but officials have noticed an “unprecedented uptick” in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated nursing home staff. 

Nearly 78 percent of Maryland residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to state data. Hogan said nearly everyone who is currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state is unvaccinated. 

Unlike leaders in other local jurisdictions, like D.C. and Montgomery County, Northam and Hogan have not issued indoor mask mandates, though both have expressed strong support for mask-wearing. 

“If you’re unvaccinated and you don’t wear a mask, you’re going to get COVID-19,” Hogan said Thursday. He said businesses, school systems, and local governments are free to develop their own policies. 

Northam has also strongly recommended the wearing of masks indoors. However, the governor said he prefers to focus on vaccination, which is the strongest form of protection available against severe illness from COVID-19. “The discussion today … should really be focused around vaccinations — and certainly around masks, but I’m not going to focus on making that a mandate,” Northam said. 

In addition to the new vaccination rules for state employees in Maryland and Virginia, some other localities and offices have begun to institute mandates of their own. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced in a press release Thursday that county government employees will be required to either get the vaccine or a weekly test. Montgomery County government employees can expect a mandate soon as well — and the D.C. Attorney General’s office has also instituted vaccine rules for its employees.