As guidelines shift in the midst of the fourth wave of the pandemic, councillors are about to discuss updating the City of London's vaccination policy.
The new policy was released on Friday and makes vaccination mandatory for all city employees, contractors, volunteers, and interns.
"With the Provincial announcement that proof of vaccination will be required in several higher risk indoor settings, and the local guidance provided by the Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly encouraging workplaces to implement mandatory workplace COVID-19 vaccination policies with similar requirements, Civic Administration has revised this policy accordingly," City manager Lynne Livingstone wrote in a memo to staff.
The policy says employees must do one of the following:
a. Provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 by September 29, 2021; or
b. Provide a written attestation of a medical reason(s) or Ontario Human Rights Code reason(s) for not being vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 29, 2021, or
c. Where a person has not received any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or has received one dose and has not yet received their second dose, the person shall receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination series by September 29, 2021 and provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 by November 1, 2021.
Noncompliance comes with some significant ramifications, according to the policy. That includes "immediate removal from active duties. The employee will be subject to corrective and/or disciplinary action that may include education or training; warning; suspension or leave without pay; or termination of employment."
As for councillors, that portion of the policy is still to be determined.
"When it comes to health and safety the same rules should to council that apply to staff," Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan told Blackburn News.
Morgan put forward a motion aiming to explore applying a similar policy to councillors last month.
Council will vote on that policy at a future meeting.
