B.C. 'absolutely' considering mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for long-term care staff, Henry says
B.C.'s top doctor says the province is considering mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in long-term care homes, along with a suite of other potential policies aimed at ensuring that residents of such facilities have as much protection from the coronavirus as possible.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry revealed the ongoing deliberation in response to questions from reporters at her news conference on B.C.'s pandemic response Thursday.
Asked whether the province would look at mandatory vaccination for long-term care workers or policies that would allow care home operators to reassign staff members who have not been vaccinated, Henry was unequivocal.
"Absolutely," she said. "We're looking at all of the options around how do we ensure that residents in long-term care are protected to the fullest extent possible."
Part of that protection, Henry said, will be ensuring that people who work in long-term care facilities are immunized, but she added that there are "a number of different factors to consider" when it comes to staff vaccination.
"(Those factors include) access to vaccine - first and second doses - and what other measures need to be in place for people who, for whatever reason, are unable to be immunized?" Henry said. "So, yes, we are actively working on all of those in terms of the progression of the policy for workers in long-term care."
Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix noted that care home policies have largely not been tied to B.C.'s reopening plan.
The province resumed allowing visitors at long-term care and assisted-living homes in late March, just days before health officials introduced stricter "circuit-breaker" rules for the general population.
Dix and Henry did not specify when new policies for care homes might be implemented, but they made it clear that changes are coming.
"We have still in place a single site (staffing) order, and as part of moving forward into the next phase of this we will be looking at how do we ensure that everybody in those most highly vulnerable settings are immunized, with two doses, as much as possible," Henry said.
Ontario recently announced new rules requiring each of that province's 626 long-term care homes to have immunization policies in place. At a minimum, those policies require workers who do not get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to "participate in an educational program about the benefits of vaccination and the risks of not being vaccinated."
Dix said Thursday that 33,219 long-term care residents in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 20,703 have received a second dose. Among staff members, 41,486 have received a first dose and 27,755 have received a second.
Site-specific immunization numbers for care home residents were published in February, but haven't been updated since. The province has never released site-specific vaccination numbers for care home staff.
With files from CP24's Chris Fox
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.