Vaccination rate of Town of Oakville employees at 95 per cent before deadline

A significant number of Town of Oakville employees have complied with its new mandated vaccine policy.

Last month the Town set an Oct. 31 deadline for all municipal workers and council members to declare their status and to be fully vaccinated.  With the deadline approaching, vaccination rates among Town employees appear to be on target.

In an update to Town Council earlier this week, Oakville Chief Administrative Officer Jane Clohecy said that 99 per cent of staff have declared their vaccination status.

Of those, 95 per cent are either fully vaccinated or will be before the Oct. 31 deadline.

“That’s where we stand at this time,” Clohecy said in her update. “Quite positive.”

The policy allows for some exemptions to be made under medical grounds.

Rapid antigen testing has also been made available for all employees until Oct. 31. The Town is also providing time off for employees to get the vaccine.

Those employees who are non-compliant of the Town’s new mandatory vaccine policy could be placed on unpaid leave, possibly going as far as seeing their employment terminated.

The new vaccine mandate applies to all employees from full- and part-time staff to temporary staff, contract employees, students, board members, members of council, consultants, tenants and leaseholders, as well as visitors setting foot into Town of Oakville facilities.