The City of North Vancouver and North Vancouver City Library’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for staff have now come into effect with the two organizations boasting 99.7 and 100 per cent compliance, respectively.
Only two of the city’s 609 full-time, part-time and auxiliary staff have been put on unpaid leave while all 57 city library employees were ready to show proof of vaccination even before they were required to.
Library spokesperson Abigail Saxton attributed the uptake to the kinds of people who would be drawn to work in public librarianship.
“Obviously, scientific literacy is really important to library staff, and people who work at the library take that very seriously,” she said. “So we didn't have any trouble getting people to comply with the mandate, and it's just really important for staff safety and public safety as well.”
West Vancouver Memorial Library also had 100 cent compliance.
With only two staff out of the lineup, City CAO Leanne McCarthy said there’s no need to act on contingency plans to keep things running smoothly.
“We're happy,” she said. “We're just really appreciative of everybody – the public and staff – participating in vaccination. It makes a big difference for us as we do our job.”
More of a concern has been absenteeism due to Omicron, which has had up to five per cent of the municipal workforce down at a given time, McCarthy said.
“You notice when you have a number like that. We can reprioritize a bit, and that’s what we’ve been doing, so there hasn’t been a major operational impact,” she said.
The only North Shore municipal service not yet facing a vaccine mandate is the North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission. Those staff and volunteers must be vaccinated by March 31.
The District of West Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, West Vancouver Police Department and North Vancouver District Public Library all had a compliance rate of 98 per cent or higher.
The mandates apply to staff as a condition of employment. They do not apply to elected council members. North Vancouver RCMP staff are federal employees and are not subject to municipal mandates.
