Effective this morning, The City of Red Deer implemented a new policy aimed at relieving pressures on our healthcare system and protecting the health and safety of City of Red Deer staff and volunteers. The COVID-19 Immunization Policy outlines the requirements for City of Red Deer staff and volunteers to be fully immunized by November 28, 2021.
“Over the past 19 months, we have continuously enhanced measures and encouraged immunization in our organization, but we are at a point in the pandemic where our healthcare system is overloaded, we are seeing our highest number of cases in our community resulting in serious consequences ,” said Interim City Manager Tara Lodewyk. “As one of Red Deer’s largest employers, we are ready to take the next step in protecting our community and our healthcare system, and today, this is through our new internal immunization policy.”
The new policy applies to all City of Red Deer staff and volunteers, and requires them to be fully immunized by November 28, 2021. To comply with this date, the following timelines apply:
- for a two dose vaccine series, employees and volunteers must receive one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by October 15, 2021, and the second dose by November 13, 2021.
- for a single dose vaccine series, employees and volunteers must receive the dose by November 13, 2021.
The current measures in place in City facilities for staff and patrons will continue to apply including masking, physical distancing, enhanced hand and surface sanitizing and staying home when sick.
“Immunizations are a contentious issue. People have strong opinions, which create tension in our workplaces and in our personal lives, but despite all of the emotions around this particular topic, a City of Red Deer Covid-19 immunization policy is now necessary for our staff ,” said Lodewyk. “This policy is about doing what we can to protect our employees, our community and our healthcare systems. It is about reducing the impacts on our already over-crowded hospitals where healthcare workers are working tirelessly as they continue to navigate this pandemic without judgement or hesitation. But we all must do our part too, and this policy is one step our staff at The City of Red Deer can take in the effort to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The policy will be monitored throughout the pandemic and adjusted as needed. It will be reviewed and evaluated every year following that.
Please see the attached FAQ - City implements COVID-19 immunization policy for staff (pdf) for further details on the policy. Visit our Corporate Policies page on our website to view the full policy.
For more information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
The City of Red Deer