GOP lawmakers urge DC Health Dept. to walk back threat to revoke medical licenses of firefighters, EMS

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First responders speaking out against vaccine mandates

Uniformed Firefighters Association president Andrew Ansbro discusses the staffing shortages New York fire departments face over vaccine mandates.

A group of House Republicans have sent a letter to the Washington, D.C. Health Department asking them to walk back the threat of revoking medical licenses of firefighters and EMS workers who don’t submit to a coronavirus vaccination.

In the letter, Republican Reps. Andy Harris, Madison Cawthorn, Jeff Duncan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Ronny Jackson urged the health department in the nation’s capital to allow exemptions to emergency workers who choose to be unvaccinated and to back down on a threat to take medical licenses from those who haven’t complied by September 30.
 

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2021, file photo a healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. President Joe Biden’s most aggressive move yet to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is almost ready to see the light of day. The government is close to publishing the details of a new vaccination-or-testing rule covering more than 80 million Americans at companies with 100 or more workers. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

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Jackson and Harris are both medical physicians. 

"Rather than proceed with the blanket COVID-19 vaccine mandate currently slated to take effect at the end of the month, we urge you to amend the policy to allow exceptions for individuals demonstrating existing natural immunity and also suggest you consider implementing a regular testing regime as an alternative to vaccination," the letter reads.

The Republicans explain in the letter that the potential loss of emergency workers could pose a threat to the safety of residents in the district.

Protestors gathered outside Gracie Mansion Thursday morning to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate.  (Rebecca Rosenberg/Fox News Digital)

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"As Members of Congress who must regularly travel to and work in Washington, D.C. we are concerned with the effect COVID-19 vaccination policies announced by your office may have on emergency services in the district, specifically among D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS)," the letter states. "Failure to amend the currently planned policy is likely to create a staffing crisis for licensed health professionals in the District, which includes firefighters and other first responders. Such a staffing shortage, in addition to creating a personal hardship for these courageous public servants, would constitute a direct threat to the public health and safety of D.C."

Explaining that natural immunity from the coronavirus is significantly stronger than vaccine immunity, according to multiple studies, the Republicans said they "respectfully urge" the D.C. Health Department  "to immediately amend the COVID-19 health care workers vaccine mandate to exempt FEMS employees who can provide proof of natural immunity and to consider allowing the unvaccinated to continue their employment subject to routine COVID-19 testing."

FILE - In this March 3, 2021 file photo, a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is displayed at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y. U.S. health advisers are meeting Friday, Oct. 15, to tackle who needs boosters of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine and when. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration also will examine data suggesting that booster of a competing brand might provide better protection. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

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The D.C. Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.