SickKids Hospital puts 147 workers on unpaid leave for not providing proof of full COVID-19 vaccination
Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children placed 147 of its employees across all functions on unpaid leave Thursday after they did not submit proof they received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the organization’s deadline.
SickKids spokesperson Jessamine Luck told CP24 that approximately 1.8 per cent of the hospital and research institute’s roughly 8,250 doctors, nurses, researchers, support staff and student trainees – including those working completely from home - are still not vaccinated or have unknown vaccination status and have been placed on unpaid leave.
“One-hundred and forty seven staff members, including corporate, clinical and research staff, both onsite and working remotely, are not fully vaccinated and/or have not submitted complete documentation and have been placed on unpaid leaves of absence.”
She said about 19 per cent of the workers put on leave Thursday have one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“It is our hope that every staff member who is currently not fully vaccinated will become fully vaccinated at their earliest opportunity and return from leave.We do not anticipate any disruptions to patient care as a result of the vaccine mandate policy.”
Back in August, SickKids and two other Ontario hospitals announced vaccine mandates that did not give unvaccinated workers an option to submit to regular testing.
Ontario rules allow other hospital workers to submit to regular rapid antigen testing, paid for by taxpayers, instead of accepting a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ford government has asked hospital administrators for input on whether to make rules more stringent.
The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table urged Ford to make vaccinations mandatory in the healthcare space, saying it could reduce the risk of future staff shortages caused by COVID-19 outbreaks in healthcare facilities.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.