Nearly 90 per cent of Toronto public service employees are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the City of Toronto.
Five per cent of staff have had at least one jab, three per cent have yet to receive a shot and another three per cent have yet to disclose their vaccination status.
Employees were required to disclose their vaccination status by Sept. 17, under the City of Toronto’s mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy. Under the policy, employees who haven’t been fully vaccinated or who haven’t disclosed their vaccination status are required to complete mandatory education through an online training module developed by Toronto Public Health.
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Unvaccinated staff are expected to complete the training before Sept. 30, 2021, after which they’ll have to report that they’ve received either their first shot of a two-dose vaccine or that they’ve received a single-dose vaccine by Oct. 30, 2021.
“I am encouraged that such a high number of City employees have already made the right decision for themselves, our community and our workplaces by getting vaccinated,” said John Tory, Toronto’s mayor, in a press release. “This policy is the right thing to do to protect the health and safety of all City of Toronto employees. We know that vaccines are the most effective way to protect against the fourth wave and Delta variant so we can end this pandemic and reopen our city.”
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The City also said it will comply with its human rights obligations and accommodate employees who aren’t able to obtain a vaccine under a protected ground set out in the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Meanwhile, four per cent of staff at a Windsor, Ont. hospital are being placed on unpaid leave for not receiving their first coronavirus vaccine doses by the set deadline of Sept. 22.
According to a statement by Windsor Regional Hospital, 140 employees who have yet to receive the vaccine have until Oct. 7 to get at least their first dose or face termination or their privileges at the hospital being suspended.
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“Our . . . team members responded by showing the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine,” said David Musyj, the hospital’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “The individuals who have not complied with the policy and decided not to be vaccinated will not impact the provision of clinical or non-clinical care to our community.”
However, the hospital said it expects the number of unvaccinated staff to be lower after Oct. 7 as some employees were set to receive their first dose last Wednesday.
The hospital’s mandate was announced following a directive from Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s top public health doctor, requiring all hospitals in the province to develop coronavirus vaccination policies that, at a minimum, mandates regular virus testing for unvaccinated workers.
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