Kansas won’t enforce vaccine rule for nursing home workers

By JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly says Kansas won’t enforce a federal mandate that nursing home workers get vaccinated against COVID-19. She acknowledged Wednesday that the mandate conflicts with a state law she signed four months ago. Kelly’s move won’t allow nursing home employees to avoid the vaccination mandate. The federal government informed the state last week that it will charge Kansas nearly $349,000 for the year to have federal teams survey nursing homes for compliance. The law enacted in November makes it easy for workers to claim a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, Republican legislators want to limit the restrictions officials can impose during future outbreaks.