WHITBY – Durham Region Council rescinds vaccination requirement for police officers
Published April 28, 2022 at 12:23 pm
The vaccination mandate for Durham Regional Police members is over after Durham Council approved a motion Wednesday to rescind the requirement made last year requiring all police to be fully vaccinated.
The motion to rescind the mandate, proposed by Oshawa Councillor Bob Chapman – a former police officer – and Pickering Councillor David Pickles, was originally meant to include all Durham Regional Councillors as well but council decided to split the motion into two parts. The second half – that the vaccine requirement for regional councillors be dropped – was referred back to staff for a report.
The deadline for Durham cops to get vaccinated was last October and nearly 95 per cent of officers complied. The rest had to take regular COVID-19 tests, with that bill costing taxpayers about $20,000 as of February.
The motion to rescind the vaccination requirements was subject to a two-thirds majority at Wednesday’s Durham Council meeting.