Just three per cent of B.C. public service staff have received less than a full series of a COVID-19 vaccine, the province said Tuesday (Nov. 30).
The province announced the requirement for all 38,240 public service employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 last month. The deadline to be vaccinated, ask for a medical exemption or be placed on unpaid leave expired on Nov. 22.
Of those three per cent who are not yet fully immunized, 439 staff, or 1.15 per cent, are partially vaccinated and have 35 days from the date of their first dose to become fully immunized.
An additional 274 employees, or 0.72 per cent, have requested an accommodation for medical reasons or other protected grounds. The province said those will be looked over on a case-by-case basis.
There are 432 employees, or 1.13 per cent of staff who are unvaccinated or refused to disclose their status. Unvaccinated employees will be placed on unpaid leave for up to three months, after which they may lose their jobs.
Contractors and other people accessing employee-only areas of indoor public service workplaces must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 13. Members of the public do not need to be vaccinated to access government services.
B.C. vaccination rate for all eligible individuals ages 12 and up is 91.1 per cent for first doses and 87.8 per cent for second ones.
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