Thousands of workers have just 2 days left to get first COVID shot or face unpaid leave
CBC
Thousands of New Brunswick workers could be sent home without pay Nov. 20 under mandatory vaccination rules if they don't get at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the day Friday.
The Higgs government announced Oct. 5 that all provincial government employees in the civil service, the education system, the health-care system and Crown corporations, as well as staff in long-term care facilities, schools and licensed early learning and child-care facilities must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 19.
On Nov. 20, employees who are not fully vaccinated and who do not have a medical exemption will be placed on unpaid leave.
With a 28-day wait between first and second doses, this is the last week anyone can get the initial shot and still meet the deadline.
As of Wednesday, figures obtained by CBC indicated almost 9,000 employees in the sectors subject to the order were not fully vaccinated.
In the health networks and in long-term care, 3,800 people had not obtained a first dose.
Partial vaccination data was not available from other sectors.
Here's what we know about where things stand.
In the Horizon Health Network, vaccination rates are 87.51 per cent for at least one dose and 85.86 per cent for two doses.
Horizon has about 14,000 employees. None have obtained a medical exemption, said spokesperson Kris McDavid.
That means roughly 1,750 are at risk of missing Friday's deadline and about 2,000 need at least one shot within the next month.
In the Vitalité Health Network, approximately 1,000 workers had not yet received their first shot as of Oct. 11. About 1,400 need at least one more.
Those figures are based on a partial vaccination rate of 87 per cent and a full vaccination rate of 83 per cent, as of last Thursday's weekly update from the network, and a total number of employees of 8,000. Those are the most recent figures available, said spokesperson Thomas Lizotte.
Two employees had medical exemptions.
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