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City of Whitehorse staff must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Feb. 20

Lindsay Schneider, the city's director of human resources, says they plan to analyze the impact of the policy before deciding whether to fire or suspend those why defy it.

Consequences are unclear for those who aren't

A file photo of a sign outside a Whitehorse COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The city has announced a new vaccination mandate for its employees. (Steve Silva/CBC)

The City of Whitehorse has a new mandatory vaccination policy for employees.

The policy comes in two phases, said Lindsay Schneider, the city's director of human resources, the first of which includes a survey. Employees will have to indicate their vaccination status by Dec. 13.

Then, Schneider said the city plans to analyze the results.

"Just see, you know, what is the mix of employees? Is there pockets across the organization that it's a higher unvaccinated rate over others?" Schneider said.

The city hasn't determined whether workers who don't get the vaccine will be fired or suspended.

City employees have until Feb. 20, 2022 to get fully vaccinated. Schneider said that should be enough time for workers to get both doses.

As of Monday, Yukon reported 69 active COVID-19 cases.