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COVID-19 vaccination required for City of West Kelowna employees

The move follows vaccine mandates in neighbouring cities
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City of West Kelowna. (Phil McLachlan/Black Press Media file)

The City of West Kelowna is the latest municipality to introduce a COVID-19 vaccination policy for its employees.

All city employees will need to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, according to a statement from the city released Wednesday, Oct. 27. The policy applies to all staff employed by the city, regardless of their work location.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with our employees to provide a safe work environment in line with public health orders and, aside from those orders, we need to do as much as we can beyond that,” CAO Paul Gipps said.

“Not only will this policy help protect our employees, it will help protect our citizens who we serve across all city facilities.”

It’s not clear whether unvaccinated employees will lose their jobs, as is the case with City of Kelowna’s mandate.

The city said that the Jan. 4 deadline should give employees ample time to get both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

West Kelowna joins other regional municipal governments in Kelowna, Penticton, Kamloops, and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District in enacting a vaccine policy. The District of Lake Country and Regional District of Central Okanagan are still considering the impacts of such a mandate.

READ MORE: Tories to respect vaccine mandate but challenge board ruling that created it: O’Toole


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twila.amato@blackpress.ca

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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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