Charleston County Council met for nearly two hours Thursday before passing its employee vaccine mandate, the second local government to pass the requirement in as many days.

City of Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg followed Friday, telling employees in an afternoon email that they would be required to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22.

The county mandate passed 6-2 during the emergency meeting, with Councilmembers Jenny Honeycutt and Dickie Schweers voting against the measure. Councilman Brantley Moody was absent, but said in a statement he was against the resolution.

County Councilwoman Anna Johnson said Thursday, “The county has a responsibility to the people that work here and the people that visit,” speaking in support of the measure. Others, including Councilmen Henry Darby and Herb Sass indicated initial trepidation about mandating the vaccine, but ultimately voted in favor of the resolution.

Charleston County’s resolution, proposed by Councilman Kylon Middleton, would require employees to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 24. The resolution passed Thursday called for county staff to develop specific processes to implement the policy.

County officials said Thursday in a voluntary poll of the county’s 1,605 employees, 1,213 already reported being fully vaccinated — about 75% of employees.

“The city of Charleston has an obligation to our employees and to our citizens to provide a safe environment in which to do business,” Tecklenburg told city workers in his email. Additional COVID-19 leave will also be provided, he said.

North Charleston was the first local government in the state to mandate vaccines for employees Wednesday. Pryor said Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg told him after North Charleston’s passage that he would likely issue an executive order affecting City of Charleston employees Friday. A city spokesman could not confirm that information early Friday.

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