In a press release, Governor Mark Gordon put out a statement criticizing the announcement of an executive order by President Joe Biden which requires COVID-19 vaccinations for a large swath of the country.

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Gordon said:

"The Biden Administration’s announcement to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing for private businesses is an egregious example of big government overreach. Our Constitution was written and fought for to protect our liberties as American citizens. This administration’s latest pronouncement demonstrates its complete disregard for the rule of law and the freedoms individuals and private companies enjoy under our Constitution. In Wyoming, we believe that government must be held in check. I have asked the Attorney General to stand prepared to take all actions to oppose this administration’s unconstitutional overreach of executive power. It has no place in America. Not now, and not ever."

The order directs the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require all businesses that employ over 100 people to either vaccinate all their employees or have unvaccinated employees produce weekly negative tests.

The order also requires all federal employees and health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid facilities to be vaccinated, while also requiring employers to allow for paid time off for employees to get vaccinated and/or recover from any vaccine side affects.

Hailey Bloom, public information officer with the Casper-Natrona County Health Department, said 98% of the employees at the Casper-Natrona County Health Department are vaccinated.

In Wyoming, 46.3% of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 39.6% of the population is fully vaccinated, putting at near the bottom in terms of vaccination rates across the country.

Gordon has encouraged people to get vaccinated, but has said previously that he believes it is an issue of personal responsibility whether someone gets vaccinated or not, and that he does not support any vaccine mandates.

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