Workers must report vaccination status for COVID-19, other diseases
Healthcare workers in British Columbia must now report their vaccination status against a number of diseases as the provincial government starts a new vaccine registry.
All health-care workers in public health-care facilities must report their immunization for COVID-19 and influenza and their immune status for other critical vaccine preventable diseases.
They must also report whether they have been vaccinated or have previously contracted:
- measles
- mumps
- rubella
- hepatitis B
- whooping cough (pertussis)
- chicken pox (varicella)
“Four and a half years ago, people throughout B.C. came together to keep each other safe through the COVID-19 pandemic, including our extraordinary health-care workers,” said Adrian Dix, minister of health.
“Health-care workers are strong supporters of vaccination and the vast majority have stepped up to get immunized and keep themselves and those they care for safe. By shifting to a new requirement for health-care workers to report their immune status for key vaccine preventable diseases including COVID-19, we are continuing to take actions that keep people safe, support a healthy workforce and a strong health-care system.”
The requirement to report will be phased in, beginning with the immediate collection of immune-status records for all new hires and appointees.
The move is the provincial government’s response to the provincial health officer’s decision to end the COVID-19 public-health emergency, which ends the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in health-care settings.
Earlier this year, the British Columbia Supreme Court upheld the COVID-19 vaccination mandate issued by Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry.
‘It is the best tool we have to prevent diseases’
Collecting healthcare workers’ vaccination records will allow for quick action to be taken in the event of an exposure, outbreak or future pandemic to ensure health-care workers who are not immune follow appropriate measures, according to the provincial government. Depending on the circumstances, this could include masking, modified duties or exclusion from work.
Also, through the new reporting process, health-authority employers will be able to regularly connect with health-care workers, such as contractors, to ensure their vaccination status is up to date. The province will offer vaccinations to employees and contractors as needed to ensure their health and that of their patients.
“We know that immunization works to help protect people from illness, including vaccines that protect against COVID-19,” said Henry.
“It is the best tool we have to prevent diseases, like COVID-19, measles and others that can cause severe illness in the health-care setting. It protects health-care workers, their families and the vulnerable people we care for. I support government’s move to require the immune status of health-care workers to protect both patients and workers. This is all part of a system that can help to prevent outbreaks and manage them when they do happen quickly and effectively.”
Also, healthcare workers who were terminated because they did not comply with previous orders requiring COVID-19 immunization can apply and be hired for positions, according to the provincial government.
Henry first imposed the vaccination orders on all workers in B.C. health-care settings in October 2021. The order was renewed in 2022 and 2023, and remains in place across B.C., noted CBC.
Approximately 1,800 healthcare workers lost their jobs due to being unvaccinated contrary to these mandates, according to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Simon Coval’s decision.
An employer’s mandatory vaccination policy was not a policy that changed the terms and conditions of employment for its workforce sufficiently to require 60 days’ notice under the BC Labour Relations Code, the BC Supreme Court previously ruled.
