New employees with City of Saint John will need proof of COVID-19 vaccination

The City of Saint John is making proof of vaccination against COVID-19 a requirement for new employees.

This week, Saint John city council rescinded its "vaccine or test" policy that has been in place since September of last year.

It was replaced by a new policy that requires proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a valid medical exemption as a condition of employment for employees hired on or after March 21.

It affects both inside and outside city workers and management, non-union staff and firefighters. It does not include police and transit employees, both employed through commissions.

"It just makes sense to, as you go forward, to have staff to be fully vaccinated," Mayor Donna Reardon said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Reardon said the goal is to lessen the impact the virus could have on the city's operations in the future.

She called the past two years of the pandemic "very, very — I can't add enough very's — challenging" for the city.

It's clear that finding a way to mitigate the effects of the virus is top of mind for staff.

Reardon thinks the new requirement will help. 

The requirement put in place last year that employees to be vaccinated received a good response from city staff, she said, calling it a "wonderful success."

About 96 per cent of staff were vaccinated under the plan, with the remaining small number of the 600 city workers agreeing to regular testing and masking requirements.

With the provincial government lifting COVID-19 safety measures, the city was left trying to strike a balance between the province's position and employee safety.

Reardon said the city wasn't comfortable with keeping restrictions in place without the province's regulatory framework.

"We really didn't want to start rocking that boat."