Santa Clara VTA implements COVID-19 vaccination policy

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is mandating all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 29, 2022.  

"Employee safety through vaccination has long been a priority for the agency. VTA has a responsibility to protect our employees and the public and help bring an end to this devastating pandemic," said Santa Clara VTA General Manager/CEO Carolyn Gonot. 

The authority says health experts overwhelmingly recommend vaccination as the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and greatly reduce the chance of serious illness. 

For convenience, employees can access testing and vaccinations at regularly scheduled free on-site clinics at various Santa Clara VTA divisions. 

Employees may request an exemption from the policy due to a qualifying medical condition or religious belief. Those requests will be handled by an outside agency. If approved, exempt employees will be required to get tested for COVID-19 every seven days. If the request for exemption is denied, the employee must provide proof of vaccination by April 29, 2022, in order to continue employment with Santa Clara VTA. 

After joint advocacy efforts by Santa Clara VTA, its four labor unions and Santa Clara County Public Health officials, VTA workers were given priority status to receive COVID-19 vaccines in March of 2021. Santa Clara VTA’s current workforce vaccination rate of approximately 61 percent is based on voluntary reporting. As the agency collects more accurate information in the coming months, this number is expected to increase significantly. 

Santa Clara VTA joins several neighboring transit agencies in implementing this policy, including BART, AC Transit, Caltrain, SFMTA, SamTrans, SMART and Golden Gate Transit.