Executive Order  No. 607: Rescinding Executive Order No. 595

WHEREAS, on August 19, 2021, Governor Charles D. Baker issued Executive Order No. 595, which implemented a requirement for vaccination against the 2019 novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) for the Commonwealth’s executive department employees;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595 has since served as a vital and successful tool for boosting vaccination rates and reducing the presence and severity of COVID-19 throughout the Commonwealth;

WHEREAS, following the issuance of Executive Order No. 595, the percentage of employees in the Commonwealth’s executive department fully vaccinated against COVID-19 grew from around 76% to over 99%;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595, and the Human Resources Division’s Vaccination Verification Policy promulgated under the authority of Executive Order No. 595, have substantially mitigated operational disruption to executive department offices and agencies caused by COVID-19, and ensured the government’s ability to provide the full measure of public services to the residents of the Commonwealth, all in the most equitable way possible; 

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595 encouraged, but did not require, independent agencies and authorities, public institutions of higher education, elected officials, other constitutional offices, the Legislature, and the Judiciary to adopt requirements for vaccination against COVID-19;

WHEREAS, other public and private sector employers throughout the Commonwealth adopted effective vaccination policies patterned on and consistent with Executive Order No. 595;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595 successfully boosted vaccine uptake across the Commonwealth by encouraging the adoption of similar policies outside of the executive department, and by signaling the importance, safety, and effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19 to all Commonwealth residents; 

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595 has successfully reduced and mitigated countless infections, hospitalizations, and deaths resulting from COVID-19;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 595 has been a valuable and effective element of the Commonwealth’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was necessary and appropriate during the Commonwealth’s public health emergency;

WHEREAS, on January 30, 2023, the President of the United States announced that the nationwide public health emergency for COVID-19, declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, will end on May 11, 2023;

WHEREAS, on this day, March 15, 2023, I, Maura T. Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth, have declared that the Commonwealth’s public health emergency for COVID-19, declared by Governor Charlie Baker on May 28, 2021 pursuant to Section 2A of Chapter 17 of the General Laws, will end on May 11, 2023;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Maura T. Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § I, Art. I, do hereby order as follows:

Executive Order No. 595 is rescinded, effective May 11, 2023.  The Human Resources Division shall take all administrative actions necessary and appropriate to carry out this directive.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 15th day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-three, and of the independence of the United States of America two hundred and forty-six.