98% of City of Toronto workers have received 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Ninety-eight per cent of City of Toronto employees have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, City officials said Monday.

Ninety-nine per cent of employees overall reported their vaccine status.

Employees were required to have received a full COVID-19 vaccine course (either a two-dose one or a single-dose vaccine) and disclose it to the City by Oct. 30 under its COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy.

Fewer than 1,300 employees (408 workers who reported being unvaccinated, 356 who responded but chose not to disclose their status and 533 did not yet respond to the survey) now remain under imminent unpaid suspension or termination.

The next step is for managers and supervisors to meet with the staff who are not compliant with the policy to review their COVID-19 vaccine status. The uncompliant staffer faces up to six weeks in an unpaid suspension.

Those who said they have received one dose have until Nov.15 to get fully immunized or will have to participate in the review meetings with their manager or supervisor.

Beginning Dec. 13, staff members who do not provide proof of full immunization will be terminated for cause, “as they will have chosen not to comply with the mandatory vaccination policy,” the City said on Monday.

“This policy is about protecting the health and safety of all City employees, their families, and our residents. We have seen continued progress in our staff vaccination rates over the last three months,” Mayor John Tory said.

“It’s my hope that any staff who have yet to get vaccinated will take that important step as soon as possible.”