23 Mar 2022

Christchurch City Council will be reviewing its Vaccine Policy and the My Vaccine Pass requirements at its public facilities.

“We have always said that we will review our policies and processes for managing COVID-19 in our work places and in our public facilities as case levels in the community change and the Government revises its strategy,’’ says Christchurch City Council’s Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale.

“The Vaccine Policy that we put in place at the start of the year was based on a Risk Assessment carried out in December 2021 which indicated that requiring people entering our workplaces to be vaccinated was the best way to reduce the COVID-19 risk for our employees, our elected members and our residents.

“Introducing a vaccine mandate has helped us to protect the health of our staff and the communities that we serve. However, we are now in a new phase of the pandemic and we need to review whether that is still the right approach,’’ Mrs Baxendale says.

“We are reviewing the December 2021 Risk Assessment based on the latest information we have about how the pandemic is evolving, the protection that vaccines offer, today’s government announcement, and what we are likely to need moving forward.’’

Mrs Baxendale says Council staff have been advised that the Vaccine Policy is being reviewed and that their feedback will be sought on the options being explored.