No vaccine requirements for Hamilton police while other first responders must get shots
Unvaccinated Hamilton police will stop testing for COVID and those on leave will return to their jobs when the force drops its workplace immunization policy next week.
It's in stark contrast to city staff - including firefighters and paramedics - who must have two shots by May 31 or lose their jobs.
We're committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace - that's a standard I think we can not throw away," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. I don't foresee any change."
Area hospitals are also sticking with mandatory COVID shots despite Ontario's chief medical officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, of health moving to scrap vaccine policies on March 1.
Having this policy in place has helped to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in our hospital and we remain fully committed to upholding our policy," Joseph Brant Hospital CEO Eric Vandewall said in a statement Tuesday.
The Burlington hospital mandated vaccination on Nov. 1, firing at least 13 of its 1,821 staff.
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) terminated 178 from its workforce of 13,369 on Jan. 26.
St. Joseph's Healthcare has put off implementing its mandate until April 7 - the original date was Feb. 21. It has 88 staff at risk of being fired out of a workforce of 5,799.
We believe vaccination is critically important," St. Joseph's said in a statement Tuesday, adding it has started a progressive disciplinary process."
St. Joseph's Healthcare has a responsibility to help protect our health-care workers in this environment."
Both McMaster University and Mohawk College have committed to keeping mandatory vaccination on campus until at least the end of the semester on April 29.
That decision is in line with direction provided by Colleges Ontario and the Council of Ontario Universities to provide certainty and minimize disruption.
It's unclear what route Hamilton's public and Catholic school boards will take, as both said Tuesday they haven't received any direction yet from the Ministry of Education about changing their COVID vaccination policies next week.
The school boards don't have mandatory vaccination. Instead, they followed Moore's directive to implement a policy that requires staff to disclose their immunization status. The unvaccinated must take education and do regular testing.
The Hamilton Police Service has a similar policy that requires the unvaccinated and those who won't disclose to undergo rapid testing before their shift rotation. Those who refused to comply were put on unpaid leave.
Beginning on March 1, the rapid testing no longer applies and those members may return," the police service said in a statement.
Over 95 per cent of the force has had two COVID shots. New hires will still be required to be fully vaccinated.
A number of Hamilton public organizations appeared to be taken by surprise when Moore said Thursday that workplace COVID immunization policies were no longer necessary and he hoped to remove them March. 1.
However, he left the door open to workplaces keeping the policies - similar to how he allowed them to go beyond his directive in the first place to require COVID vaccination.
The province only mandates COVID shots for staff in long-term care homes and there has been no move to change that policy yet.
Hamilton's medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, didn't give a clear opinion on whether she thinks it's time to remove workplace COVID vaccination polices. However, she stressed in a statement Tuesday that workplaces can choose to continue to enforce them.
Workplace vaccine policies have been a valuable tool in reducing COVID-19 transmission in select settings and for helping to increase COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates," she said.
Eisenberger acknowledged the challenges that will arise as workplaces like the city keep vaccine polices in place, while others like the police service drop them.
It is a concern and certainly that is something every organization is going to have to grapple with in their own way," said Eisenberger. None of it has been easy. Putting the requirement in place was not an easy decision either."
City council voted in January for the mandatory vaccination and hasn't yet discussed whether it should now be changed. Hamilton's Emergency Operations Centre is also reviewing it.
I believe the city should follow through with their vaccine verification policy," said Eisenberger. I think the likelihood is pretty high that we will."
As of Tuesday, about 97 per cent of city staff were vaccinated. Regular testing is in place for the rest and, so far, will continue after March 1 until the mandatory shots come into effect at the end of May.
HSR bus drivers voted Feb. 7 to have their union fight the mandatory shots before an arbitrator. As of last month, 86 of HSR's roughly 900 unionized members weren't fully vaccinated and 19 more were on unpaid leave for refusing to disclose their status.
Eisenberger expects there may be other challenges to the policy but remains undeterred.
So many of our staff have done the right thing by getting vaccinated as required," he said. I think that is going to be important going forward. I think a healthy and safe environment that we are responsible to provide is something we can not ignore."
Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com