All health care workers in the British Columbia will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine if they want to keep working in a health care facility.

Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, says this includes all workers, students, doctors, residents, contractors, and volunteers including those at contracted facilities which are accessible to patients, including a client’s home.

It will come into effect on October 26.

The announcement was made on the same day that B.C.’s vaccine card came into effect requiring people to show they have had one dose of a COVID vaccine until Oct. 24 to access a wide range of non-essential services and activities, after which they will need to be fully vaccinated.

The B.C. Nurses’ Union was quick to voice its opposition towards the making of immunization a condition of employment, though they say they encourage nurses to be vaccinated.

“We cannot support any order which will serve to remove even a single nurse or other health-care worker from the health-care system at a time of severe crisis,” the union said in a statement.

“Nurses and other health-care professionals are forced to deliver patient care in dire conditions all too often while battling two public health emergencies on the front lines. Based on pre-pandemic projections, British Columbia is on pace to be 24,000 nurses short by the year 2029.”

Meanwhile, the Hospital Employees Union says now is the time for unvaccinated health care workers to go seek out credible information from their family doctor or BC CDC to make a decision on getting a vaccine.

“We all were basically supporting voluntary vaccination programs so I can understand that,” President Mike Old said, on NL Newsday. “I think that we were concerned when this was announced that there was a risk but especially in some areas of the province where there are really severe staffing issues, this could result compound the public health emergency we’re in now.”

He too says there is concern that the vaccine mandate may push some health care workers out of the sector.

“I think what has changed in the last few weeks is that the Provincial Health Officer has determined that the risk is pretty high and that these measures are necessary,” he added. “We will protect our member’s rights under the collective agreement but the most important thing to remember is that vaccination rates among healthcare workers are extremely high.”

Speaking during a press conference Monday, Henry said she was disheartened to see some people take out their frustrations about the vaccine passport on health-care workers.

“They continue to care for people regardless of what their vaccination status is,” she said. “We must come together in respect for health-care workers who have cared for us over the past year and a half.”

Speaking on the NL Morning News, Kamloops Chamber of Commerce President, Dan Carroll, says he knows of some businesses that concerned about angry customers now that the vaccine cards are in place.

“We’re hearing the same trepidation and concern that there will be those confrontations and again, the message going out to everyone in the community is that everyone’s got the right to an opinion and the right to protest but do it fairly,” he said. “Don’t take out your frustrations on the provincial government on 16-year-old servers at cafes and retails or young folks.”

“It is not their issue, they didn’t pass the law. Protests can be directed to the government if you need to and that’s about all we can say as a Chamber. I’ve been listening to the news quite carefully over the last while, I know the government is making sure people are aware of penalties for non compliance.”

Carroll previously told NL News he is getting the sense that local businesses are welcoming the introduction of the BC vaccine card, noting the City’s business community is looking for any tool or technique that can keep the economy going and growing.

Third dose to be offered to people considered to be immunocompromised

The province will also be giving a third vaccine doses to people who are severely immunocompromised in accordance with guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

“As a result of their medical condition, people who are immune-compromised have a reduced capacity to respond effectively to any vaccine,” she said. “To these people, a third dose is needed to get that protection that the rest of us get from the regular dose schedule.”

Henry says about 15,000 British Columbians including those who those who have received an organ, bone marrow or stem cell transplant, will be contacted to register so they can receive their third dose starting this week.

In all, about 300,000 people in B.C. are considered clinically extreme vulnerable to COIVD-19, Henry said, noting experts are also reviewing data to better understand the risks to about 120,000 people who are moderately immunocompromised.

Further, Henry also said COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings in Interior Health will eased with rollout of B.C. vaccine passport allowing events like Kamloops Blazers games to go ahead once again, as long as people are fully vaccinated.

B.C. reports 1,984 new COVID-19 cases over weekend

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Monday that 85.8 per cent of people over the age of 12 in B.C. have had their first dose of a vaccine while 78.4 per cent are fully vaccinated. That is as B.C. reported 1,984 new cases over the weekend, 542 of which were in Interior Health.

There are now 5,825 active cases in the province, down by 25 from Friday. Of that 1,618 in Interior Health, down by 210 from Friday.

Provincially, there are now 278 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 139 of those in intensive care. A tweet from Dix said there was newborn baby in ICU with the virus as well as a child under the ago of 12, both of whom were not vaccinated as there is no approved vaccine for people this young.

Dix said there are 32 people at Royal Inland Hospital with COVID-19, 13 of which are in ICU.

Nine deaths were reported over the weekend, including three in the Interior.

Elsewhere, there were 609 new cases in Fraser Health (1,711 active), 319 in Vancouver Coastal Health (945 active), 220 in Island Health (607 active) and 294 in Northern Health (931 active). There were no new cases from people who reside out of Canada, with 13 such cases still active.

An outbreak at the Kamloops Seniors Village long-term care home has 19 cases, up by four from Friday. Ten cases are among residents and nine among staff, with one death connected to the outbreak. An outbreak at The Hamlets at Westsyde remains at five cases – three residents and two staff.

Data from the province shows 85.5 per cent of people over the age of 12 (3,962,256) have gotten one dose of a COVID vaccine, while 78 per cent (3,614,503) are fully vaccinated. That is an increase of 6,632 first doses and 6.436 second doses compared to Thursday.

Between September 3 and 9, the province says people not fully vaccinated account for 77.8 per cent of all new COVID cases. Similarly, between August 27 and September 9, they accounted for 86.2 per cent of all hospitalizations.

Dix says the statistics continue to show that unvaccinated people are far more likely to become seriously ill from the disease, noting of the 38 people under the age of 50 in the ICU, 37 are unvaccinated.

– With files from Bill Cowen and Jeff Andreas

93% of those in ICU due to COVID-19 today in BC were not fully vaccinated.

See full breakdown: pic.twitter.com/VsnCeFdIsA

— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) September 13, 2021