Should we require Proof of Vaccination?

Currently, the Parish Council is discussing whether we should require Proof of Vaccination (POV) to attend worship services at St. Paul’s. Before any decision is made, probably at the January meeting, we want your input. No response from you will be interpreted as a favorable opinion or that it doesn’t really matter to you. All responses must be in writing by email to John Clarke or by post to the Parish Office. Verbal comment at the door won’t be considered.

As things stand at the moment, the Diocese prohibits POVs and the CPHO on PEI advises against them. Both cite inclusion as their main reason. The Diocese sees worship to be “essential” and therefore ought to be exempt from POVs so that no one is excluded from public worship. The concern of some Parish Council members is that there maybe others who feel excluded because they don’t want to go places where POVs are not mandatory.

Regardless of our choice the current protocols will remain in place: contact tracing, social distancing, masks, limited capacity in our buildings, and other measures. We believe that our current capacity of 90 people attending our worship services is safe, but we rarely exceed 60. That means that we typically have 30 spot still available. So our question is, would we get closer to 90 people if we required POV? That’s why we want to hear from you. We don’t want to know, at this point, what your vaccination status is, we just want to know what you think of the proposal that we have a POV policy to attend worship at St. Paul’s.

Obviously, if we adopted this policy we would seek permission from the Diocese before enacting the change.

It is a curious things: on the one hand, having a POV requirement means that we, in a sense, actively exclude people who are not fully vaccinated, and that seems unlike us. On the other hand, are we excluding people who are choosing not to attend because we don’t have a POV policy? It is a difficult decision for Parish Council members so please respond with your thought: for, against or otherwise, to help the Council members in this deliberation.