Albany County employees will no longer have to worry about losing time accruals to get the COVID-19 vaccination shot when their appointment falls during the middle of the work day.

In its latest push to get more people inoculated against COVID-19, the Albany County Legislature passed a resolution Monday that provides up to four hours of paid time-off for the purposes of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. It will also be applied retroactively to employees who used time for the purpose of receiving the vaccine on or after December 1, 2020.

The cost to the County is expected to be minimal and by reducing barriers to obtaining the vaccination, the Legislature anticipates fewer employee absences related to COVID quarantines and illnesses.

“I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for passing this resolution tonight. It’s the right thing to do. We are in the middle of a pandemic, so anything we can do to get people vaccinated and encourage vaccinations is something we should be doing,” said Deputy Majority Leader Lynne Lekakis, who sponsored the resolution.

“Our County employees have played a pivotal role during COVID-19, many of them working on the front lines every day to help others. It’s our turn to help them by doing everything we can to ensure they receive the care they need to protect themselves, their families and carry on our County mission,” stated Legislator Raymond Joyce, Chairman of the Health Committee.

“The health and safety of our County employees is critical and I am glad that we can offer them this benefit so they can get vaccinated. This is a community-wide issue and I want to thank the members of the Legislature for their support,” said Deputy Majority Leader Gil Ethier, Chairman of the Personnel Committee.

“The Legislature has always made the health and safety of our employees a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to push for people to get vaccinated, we need to make it easier for them to do so without having to worry about loss of income,” Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce said. “I commend my colleagues for their forward thinking approach to help our devoted County employees who want to get vaccinated.”