Premier says most public sector employees fully vaccinated as deadline approaches

The deadline for government employees to get their COVID-19 vaccine is Nov. 30, and so far, most have reported they are fully vaccinated

CITYnews\ Chris Halef
about 17 hours ago

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The province says most employees in the public sector are fully vaccinated, but there are concerns about employees who have not reported their status yet.

The deadline for government employees to get their COVID-19 vaccine is Nov. 30, and so far, most have reported they have had two doses.

The vaccination rates among government employees who have reported their status are 97 per cent fully vaccinated, two per cent partially vaccinated, with 93 per cent reporting.

Some sectors have reported most of their employees are fully vaccinated, including 95 percent of NSHA employees, 99 percent of IWK employees and 97 percent of employees in the education sector, among others.

Speaking at Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, Premier Tim Houston said these numbers are encouraging but he is keeping a close eye on those not reporting their status.

“I hope the fact that they haven’t reported doesn’t mean that they don’t intend to get vaccinated,” said Houston. “But if it does mean that, we will deal with it. At the end of the day, we absolutely believe and are completely convinced that people who work in these sectors must be vaccinated to protect the people they care for.”

Houston said getting vaccinated is more important than dealing with the impacts of staffing and services if people choose to leave.

“The employers are all planning for how they will handle potential staff shortages or service disruptions, but right now there is no employer that is expecting any major impacts to service delivery,” said Houston.

According to the province, any employees under the provincial mandate who do not have a first dose by Nov. 30 will be put on unpaid leave.

Vaccination rates of employees in the health, education and the long-term care sectors included in the COVID-19 vaccination mandate who have reported are:

• Nova Scotia Health Authority: 95 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 94 per cent on November 16), four per cent partially vaccinated, with 90 per cent reporting (up from 88 per cent)
• IWK Health Centre: 99 per cent (no change), one per cent partially vaccinated, with 99 per cent reporting (no change)
• long-term care: 95 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 93), three per cent partially vaccinated, with 95 per cent reporting (up from 89 per cent)
• home care: 95 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 89), four per cent partially vaccinated, with 97 per cent reporting (up from 78 per cent)
• education: 97 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), two per cent partially vaccinated, with 90 per cent reporting (up from 75 per cent)
• Emergency Health Services (EHS): 99 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), one per cent partially vaccinated, with 92 per cent reporting (up from 88 per cent)

The following sectors are being included in the COVID-19 vaccination mandate update for the first time:

• adult day programs (Seniors and Long-term Care): 94 per cent fully vaccinated, no employees partially vaccinated, with 97 per cent reporting
• correctional services: 99 per cent fully vaccinated, one per cent partially vaccinated, with 68 per cent reporting
• Community Services (Disability Support Program and Child and Youth Caring Program): 93 per cent fully vaccinated, seven per cent partially vaccinated, with 96 per cent reporting
• daycares: 93 per cent full vaccinated, five per cent partially vaccinated, with 84 per cent of facilities reporting
• Hearing and Speech NS: 99 per cent fully vaccinated, no employees partially vaccinated, with 95 per cent reporting.