Vaccine mandate for health professionals starts March 24, changes to orders announced next week

British Columbia is moving forward with mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for all health care professionals that will take effect on March 24.

“It’s to ensure we have a consistent, supported standard across health care so that all regulated health professional are held to the same standard,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told a news conference on Wednesday.

Henry first mentioned plans for the order last October which covers all other health care workers not covered by other orders, such as family doctors, dentists, psychologists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and chiropractors.

“The colleges have all been behind this and we’ve worked very closely with them. It turned out to be more complex that we originally thought,” Henry stated.

Henry also said more details on the current health orders will be provided next week.

“What you will hear next week will be the details of how we are going to move forward. You will hear less of the pandemic and more about how we continue to manage our personal risks as restrictions are adjusted in step with what we are seeing in terms of transmissions and hospitalizations,” Henry explained.

Henry emphasized the changes that will be made will continue to be based on the science, the circumstances of B.C.’s pandemic and the direct results of the efforts of millions of residents to protect themselves, their neighbours and their communities.

“We’re all tired of this, we all want it to end, but wanting it to end and taking the right measures to get us through this are two different things that we need to work on together,” Henry remarked.

The health officer said while the rates of people being hospitalized have been much less due to vaccines and less severe illness with Omicron, the absolute numbers are still “staggering.”

Henry also announced the daily information updates provided by the health ministry will change to reflect the changes in testing strategy that now focus on people who need a test to return to work or because it affects their health management.

“Daily metrics about active cases and people who have been removed from isolation are no longer an accurate reflection at what is happening in the community, so they will be removed from daily reports and from the dashboard,” said Henry.

The province’s top doctor said there is no definitive right answer as to when you should get vaccinated after having a previous COVID infection.

“What we do know from real world data, is at least in the short term, people who have been infected do generally have some degree of immunity that lasts for several weeks to months, but it is very variable.”

She said it’s less clear from Omicron infections how much protection there is and how long it lasts, but she still recommends those people get vaccinated, up to eight weeks after they had their infection.

Henry also said the ministry has been working with the food and beverage industries and will be posting additional guidance and clarification to support businesses that don’t normally serve food like bars and night clubs.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said over 11 million vaccines have been administered around B.C.

He said 25.6 million rapid tests are expected to arrive in the province by the end of February.

“Clearly the supply of tests to B.C. is ramping up quickly in the two weeks ahead,” said Dix. “We need to continue to ensure easy access to rapid antigen tests for those at higher risk for COVID to ensure timely access to treatment. However with the expected increase in supply, we will be working over the days to come on a larger distribution approach.”

Dix said, in the week ahead, 4.1 million test kits will be distributed around the province.