The city says that nearly 94 per cent of the municipal workforce is now fully vaccinated.
Released in September, the City of Greater Sudbury’s mandatory vaccine policy gave its approximately 3,000 employees until Nov. 15 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they had a valid exemption.
“As we continue to see a concerning rise in the number of COVID-19 cases locally, we remain committed to doing all we can to reduce transmission and ease the burden on our health-care system,” said Mayor Brian Bigger.
“Being fully vaccinated continues to be the best protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant, and I want to thank our employees for doing their part to protect the well-being of our community.”
As of end of the day on Nov. 15, more than 2,700 employees have provided their vaccination status.
“Of the remaining city employees, just over two per cent have received a single dose, three per cent are not vaccinated and one per cent have not declared their status,” the city said in a news release Nov. 17. “There is currently one approved exemption.”
The city said employees who chose not to be vaccinated requested a leave by Nov. 16 “in accordance with current policies and/or collective bargaining agreements.” In terms of real numbers, a total of 139 employees (60 per cent of whom are casual or part-time) are on a leave, and mitigation strategies have been put in place to address these absences, the city said.
“The vast majority of these leaves are unpaid.”
Despite having 139 workers on leave (the city didn’t specify in which departments these workers were employed), Tom Davies Square said because of the high percentage of fully vaccinated staff, “there will be minimal service interruptions to the public.”
“We adopted this policy so that people can enter city facilities knowing that we are taking the proper steps to keep them safe and healthy,” said CAO Ed Archer.
“We join many other public and private-sector organizations across the country in implementing this public health measure, and I am pleased to see the positive response from the vast majority of our employees.”
The policy applies to all city employees, students, members of council and volunteers at city facilities or workplaces. The policy will also apply to members of council-appointed committees when these meetings move from virtual to in-person. More details will be provided to members at a later date.
As well, as of Nov. 15, the city has also expanded proof of vaccination requirements to include some additional municipal facilities. More details can be found here.
