Employees with the City of Victoria will need to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by early next year.
The City of Victoria announced Tuesday that it will be requiring all of its employees, regardless of where they work, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 5, 2022.
The proof of vaccination policy only applies to staff and not elected officials, although the city claims that all members of council are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
“Vaccines are the strongest prevention measure we have against COVID-19,” Jocelyn Jenkyns, city manager, said in a press release. “This vaccine requirement will continue to protect employees in all of our workplaces, as well as members of the public who we interact with.”
The city says it is still figuring out how to deal with instances where employees fail to get vaccinated without legitimate grounds for accommodation.
Other municipalities have also required their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including the Districts of Saanich and Central Saanich, as well as the Township of Esquimalt. All B.C. Public Service and Capital Regional District employees are required to be vaccinated as well.
The Jan. 5 deadline was chosen because the city says it “allows sufficient time” for their employees who haven’t received their first dose of vaccine to become fully vaccinated.
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