Mayor: Portland can’t require COVID-19 vaccination for cops

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Mayor Ted Wheeler confirmed Wednesday that state law prohibits Portland from making police officers get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite a new city mandate that requires municipal workers do so. Wheeler told The Oregonian/OregonLive he’s disappointed and will urge officers to get vaccinated. The city attorney’s office said Tuesday the order requiring police to be vaccinated had become legally dubious because of new guidance from the Oregon Health Authority. The city believed that a vaccine requirement for state health care workers imposed last month by Gov. Kate Brown was broad enough to include Portland police officers, who require some medical training.