British Columbia makes COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for long-term care workers

British Columbia will require everyone working in long-term care and seniors’ assisted living facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 by mid-October, becoming the first province to impose such a mandate.

Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry announced the order on Thursday, citing a changing level of risk driven by an increase in cases among unvaccinated and partly vaccinated people, as well as new, highly transmissible variants.

“We have seen the impact of that in long-term care, where we now have eight outbreaks introduced by unvaccinated people,” she said. “Once it gets into these highly risky settings, it can spread even to those who are immunized. We have seen spread both to residents and staff.”

The condition of employment will apply to all licensed facilities, whether private, contracted or owned and operated by a health authority, Dr. Henry said.

Local public-health units will verify the immunization status of all workers, and work with individual staff and facilities to ensure they have access to vaccinations.

All the employees are required to be fully immunized by Oct. 12.

In the interim, unvaccinated staff will be required to wear masks and additional personal protection equipment, and be tested for COVID-19 regularly.

The new order also applies to volunteers and personal service workers who go into long-term care and assisted living facilities, effective immediately.

Dr. Henry acknowledged that a small percentage of people may be unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. She said public-health officials would work with those individuals, and their employers and unions, “and support people through this process.”

She said the province plans to “have all of the provisions in place for people to make sure that we can get as high immunization rates as possible.”

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Several groups have called for a vaccination mandate. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the Canadian Nurses Association would like to see a requirement that all health care workers be immunized. CMA president Ann Collins said health care providers “have a fundamental duty of care towards our patients and the public.”

Other provinces have considered similar rules, but have yet to make vaccinations against COVID-19 a condition of employment. Ontario introduced policies intended to promote full immunization among long-term care staff, but it allows unvaccinated workers to continue in their jobs as long as they participate in an educational program about the importance of vaccination. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said on Tuesday that he was examining the scenario and that a decision will be made in coming days.

The Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU), which represents hospital workers in British Columbia, has encouraged its more than 50,000 members to be vaccinated, and spokesperson Mike Old said most – including 20,000 working directly in seniors’ care – have done so. He said the union’s position is that education and access are key to improving vaccine uptake and preferable to mandates, but it will encourage members to follow the new directive.

However, Mr. Old said the policy must accommodate those who cannot take the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, and expressed concern that the order could compound an already serious staffing crisis.

“In a recent poll we conducted with our members, 24 per cent said they were likely to leave health care over the next two years as a result of their experiences during the pandemic,” Mr. Old said in a statement.

“So while many health care workers will support this measure, it will be controversial, and it may push some to leave their jobs altogether.”

Terry Lake, chief executive officer of the BC Care Providers Association, said his organization is pleased with the announcement, and urged those working in the sector to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

“This order is particularly important as we face new variants of this pernicious virus, which has affected seniors living in long-term care and assisted living so drastically,” Mr. Lake said in a statement.

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