Most Toronto police employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, but three days after the force disclosure deadline, 20 percent of staff have yet to say whether they received the vaccine.
Of the 80 percent of Toronto police employees who have disclosed their vaccination status, 92 percent are fully vaccinated, while five percent have received their first injection, according to police spokeswoman Allison Sparkes.
The new figures mean that roughly 78 percent of the roughly 7,500 police employees have told the service that they are fully or partially vaccinated.
That number, which is in line with the province-wide average for adults under 70, is expected to rise as more employees continue to provide updates after the original Sept. 13 deadline, Sparkes said; The force has allowed employees to continue to update their vaccination status through a portal throughout the week, and said some employees may not have provided information due to their leave or vacation.
“We continue to educate and encourage members to get vaccinated and the vast majority are, based on our disclosures to date,” Sparkes said.
Toronto-based hospice physician and health justice activist Dr. Naheed Dosani said it is “very worrying” that one in five Toronto police employees is not vaccinated.
Because people generally do not have the option to interact with the police, members of the public will now be forced to be indoors with potentially unvaccinated officers “during a pandemic that is only getting worse in our communities,” he said.
He added: “This puts the health of the general public at risk.”
Employees who have not provided their vaccination status will not face any disciplinary action, a deal brokered by the Toronto Police Association, which has come out against a mandatory vaccination policy due to what it called missing “critical” details.
Toronto police also currently have no plans to transfer officers who refuse to reveal their vaccination status, including front-line officers who regularly interact with members of the public. All officers “will continue to abide by and follow public health directives,” including wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) during all public interactions, Sparkes said.
Toronto police will consider employees who have not disclosed their vaccination status to be unvaccinated, meaning “increased workplace limitations can be expected,” as well as increased education and awareness efforts, he said. Sparkes. The policy is still under development and consultation with TPA and other law enforcement services and stakeholders is being consulted.
Next week, unvaccinated officers will no longer be eligible for one aspect of the job, which applies only to off-duty work and comes along with the provincial requirement for proof of vaccination.
Beginning September 22, unvaccinated officers will not be able to perform paid work (assignments in which off-duty officers are hired, usually as security), including in any city of Toronto job title and at the Blue Jays Games. , where there were already paid officers. This week is required to provide proof of double vaccination.
Dosani said that ensuring that all officers wear personal protective equipment during interactions with the public “is simply not enough.”
“The only way to keep the public safe is to make sure unvaccinated officers don’t interact with them,” Dosani said.
Reference-www.thestar.com