Deadline arrives for City of Calgary's staff vaccine mandate

CALGARY -

City of Calgary employees are required to disclose whether they received their COVID-19 shots and must upload their proof of vaccination records as the vaccine mandate takes effect Monday.

Exemptions are being provided in some cases and those who aren't fully protected must participate in a free rapid test program from Nov. 1 through Dec. 1.

Home testing kits will be provided by the city for the first month, but employees will cover the cost of their own rapid test if they are not fully vaccinated by December.

The city is also offering a mandatory education program about the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.

"We seem to be stalled out at just upwards of 80 per cent," Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Monday afternoon.

"I'm very hopeful that those numbers will continue to rise as people become more comfortable with vaccinations," she said.

According to City data released Friday, 82 per cent of City of Calgary employees are fully vaccinated and four percent are partially vaccinated.

That means about 2,000 of the city's 14,000 employees have not been fully immunized against COVID-19.

The Calgary Fire Department reports 80 per cent of its employees are fully vaccinated and two per cent are partially protected.

The Calgary Police Service is reporting 85 per cent of its force have both shots and three per cent have one.    

Updated numbers are expected to be released by the city on Tuesday.

City Manager David Duckworth says with high compliance numbers there are no expected service disruptions, especially for emergency services, as pandemic protocols continue.