There are now 1,018 unvaccinated healthcare workers in Interior Health, according to data from the B.C. government, still the most in any health authority.
That amounts to about five per cent of the total workforce, though it is a 25 per cent decrease from the 1,369 (seven per cent) unvaccinated healthcare workers as of last Tuesday, the date when all healthcare workers were required to be vaccinated.
Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry says they’re now reaching out to these healthcare workers one-on-one to try and understand their reasons for not being vaccinated.
“If now is not the time that you start to believe in the importance and the value of vaccination in protecting people, then I don’t know when is,” she said Monday. “If people are in our healthcare system and not recognizing the importance of vaccination, then that’s just probably not the right profession for them, to be frank.”
“One is for ourselves, to protect our families, to protect our colleagues but most importantly to protect the people we care for. And we see this every year whether its measles, whether its influenza, but right now particularly, our way thorough the pandemic.”
Across B.C., there are 3,325 unvaccinated healthcare workers who are now on unpaid leave, about 2.6 per cent of the total work force, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix. He says those numbers include people who have worked at least one shift in the last three months.
In Northern Health, four per cent of healthcare workers (320) are unvaccinated, while it is two per cent each in Fraser Health (587), Vancouver Coastal Health (478), and Island Health (480).
“Some people are quite dogmatically against vaccination, which is unfortunate,” Henry said, when asked why the situation in Interior Health is so much worse than the rest of the province. She also noted that the rate of unvaccinated healthcare workers reflect the vaccination rates of communities in which they live and work.
Dix though says at this point, there is no need to transfer healthcare workers into Interior Health to cover staff shortages. He also said last week, the province will continue to provide supports to Interior Health to ensure that people have the care they need amid potential staff shortages.
B.C. to offer mRNA vaccine to people with two doses of AstraZeneca
British Columbians who’ve received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be given a booster dose of the vaccine ahead of other eligible healthy adults.
Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry says if you had two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, there is a ‘waning of protection’ compared to people who got at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna.
“People who have had two doses of AstraZeneca the chance of protection is not as high,” she said.
“Thankfully they still have strong protection against serious illness but lower protection against infection and as a result people who received two doses of AstraZeneca will be receiving invitations for their booster at six months this may be sooner than other healthy adults in the community.”
Henry says these people will start getting invitations six months after they had their second dose of AstraZeneca.
Last week, Henry announced that booster vaccines were being rolled out to long term care residents and seniors in B.C. before being offered to anyone who wants it, in the months ahead.
“Like a booster dose at some point whether it’s 6 months or 8 months, it is something that will give us longer lasting durable protection,” Henry added.
She also said at the time that two doses of will still continue to be the standard when it comes to being considered fully vaccinated in the province.
“It will be optional for most of us in the new year. It will give us more durable protection,” Henry said. “Right now, I don’t have enough information to say it will be necessary to all of us.”
