A Pima County correctional officer glances inside a cell at the county jail.
Pima County is moving closer to terminating unvaccinated employees who don't have an exemption, but the number is much lower than reported earlier.
Acting County Administrator Jan Lesher told the County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning that most of the employees facing potential firing either got vaccinated or got an exemption by the December 31 deadline.
"When we first began to look at this number we had about 427 individuals who were not vaccinated and as of today we're at 51 so we've had considerable progress moving in that area," Lesher said.
Out of 51 county workers who continue to defy the board's vaccine mandate, Lesher says 22 are jail officers with the Sheriff's Department, and 11 work for the County Attorney.
Lesher says no jail inmates will be released early because of the firings, despite reports that some would be freed to ease the workload on the smaller jail staff.
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