The Town of Essex has suspended its COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Council supported administration's recommendation Monday night to suspend the policy.
It was put into place in mid-October 2021 and required all town employees, members of Council and Committee members to show proof of vaccination.
The town however allowed unvaccinated individuals to take part in testing twice a week but those who refused were placed on unpaid leave.
Councillor Sherry Bondy supported the suspension of the policy, because she feels it's no longer needed.
"We have 96.5 per cent vaccinated so it's time to move," she continued. "The best thing anybody can do still as we get out of this pandemic is stay home if you're sick, wash your hands, practice physical distancing and we're all going to eventually move out of this."
She says the town is also suspending the policy for new hires.
"We put it in place and it did what it had to do at the time but now it's time to take it down. I don't want to miss out on hiring opportunities and not looking at the entire population when it comes to hiring."
Bondy feels the policy did what it had to do, but believes now is the time to take it down.
"It doesn't make sense to have the policy in place anymore. I think we'll see many municipalities relax their policies and begin to shift away from it. It was a hard policy to put in place to begin with," she said.
As of January 17, 96.5 per cent of staff were fully vaccinated, 0.5 per cent were partially vaccinated and three per cent were unvaccinated or did not consent to provide vaccination status.