Update on St. Joseph's COVID-19 immunization policy

From the very first days of the pandemic, the priority at St. Joseph’s Health Care London has been to protect those we serve and provide a safe work environment for our staff and physicians. Ensuring all who work at St. Joseph’s are vaccinated, with the exception of individuals with a medical exemption, is central to this commitment.

Since COVID-19 vaccination became available, St. Joseph’s has been focused on educating staff and physicians on the safety, efficacy and importance of vaccination and their responsibility as health care providers. Evidence shows that vaccination is the most effective strategy in our collective fight against this virus. 

In October 2021, we announced a COVID-19 immunization policy that required all who work at St. Joseph’s to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30 unless they have a documented medical exemption.  

We are pleased to report that as of Dec. 1, 100 per cent of physicians and more than 99 per cent of staff at St. Joseph’s are fully vaccinated. We are grateful to those who have chosen to lead by example and follow public health recommendations. Regrettably, 40 individuals have not met the requirements of our COVID-19 immunization policy and their employment will be terminated. While this is a very difficult day across our organization, moving forward with our vaccination requirements is necessary to protect the vulnerable people we serve and provide the safest care possible.  

Anticipating a potential reduction in our workforce, we have been working for several months on strategies to ensure continuity of service. We don’t anticipate any impact to the level of care we provide to our patients and residents.  
 
Most importantly, patients, residents and their loved ones can now be assured that everyone working within our buildings and all those on our care teams working in the community are fully vaccinated.