The new Washington Secretary of State, Steve Hobbs, mandated a vaccine for his staff, of which approximately 30 percent is unvaccinated.

Hobbs, a Democrat, gave his staff of around 300 a deadline of Feb. 25 to become fully vaccinated. If they refuse, they could face termination.

"I am confident that this will help protect the employees of this office, as well as the citizens that we serve," Hobbs told reporters in a virtual briefing, according to Northwest News Network.

The secretary of state's office approximates that over 200 of its employees, around 70 percent, are vaccinated.

The number of employees vaccinated is most likely higher, as employees did not need to report their vaccination status before, Hobbs said, according to KING-TV. He also acknowledged that he expects to lose some employees due to the mandate.

Hobbs' office will adopt Gov. Jay Inslee's vaccine policy, Hobbs said, which the governor announced for health care workers, educators, and state employees last summer. Within Inslee's vaccine mandate, there is also an option for employees to seek exemptions and accommodations to keep working.

"This was a decision I made after an assessment and commitment to the health and safety of our employees, especially as COVID-19 continues to occupy all aspects of our life," said Hobbs on Monday, KING-TV reported.

Inslee appointed Hobbs to succeed Republican Kim Wyman after Wyman said she would resign to take a top election post with the Biden administration.

Wyman was the only one whose statewide office did not enforce a vaccine mandate after Inslee announced his mandate.

Steve Hobbs, Vaccine Mandate, Feb. 25 Deadline
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs expects a few departures because of a vaccine mandate. In this photo, a healthcare worker administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a person at a drive-thru site in Tropical Park on Dec. 16, 2021, in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The secretary of state's office operates 27 locations and is responsible for elections, corporation and nonprofit registrations, and operation of the state archives and library.

In an interview last fall, Wyman — Washington's only Republican statewide officeholder — defended her decision not to require vaccines, although she was vaccinated.

"I wasn't willing to fire someone who, for whatever reason, didn't want to share with me their vaccination status," Wyman said.

Asked how Hobbs would respond to a staff member who doesn't want to get vaccinated, Hobbs held firm: "Being fully vaccinated brings you greater protections, even if you were to get infected by Omicron."

For now, booster shots for secretary of state staff will not be required.

Among state employees covered by Inslee's mandate, about 3 percent — or just over 2,000 — left their jobs or were terminated because they did not want to get vaccinated, according to the state Office of Financial Management.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.