City says some employees on leave for vaccine policy; new data released Friday

DAYTON — The city of Dayton says some employees are on leave after the city’s new vaccine policy went into effect Monday.

As of Friday afternoon, the city’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs reported that 513 city employees have been tested. A total of 15 employees have declined to be tested and were therefore sent home on leave without pay.

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Among some of these city employees were officers from the Dayton Police Department. On Monday, police leaders confirmed some officers were sent home after refusing to receive the vaccine or be tested, but an exact number was not provided.

City officials said they were prepared for a potential “public safety nightmare” when the policy went into effect Nov. 1. The policy was announced in August and required all city employees to be fully vaccinated or be subjected to weekly COVID-19 testing.

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Both the police and fire departments put together contingency plans for potential staffing shortages in response to the policy, but both unions said they did not have any staff members call off Monday in response to the policy.

Prior to the start of the vaccine policy, City Manager Shelley Dickstein said more than 70 percent of the city’s staff had been vaccinated.

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