All staff and volunteers at long-term care facilities in B.C. now have to be fully vaccinated (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

MANDATORY VACCINATIONS

B.C. care providers applaud province for requiring vaccines for all long-term care staff, volunteers

Aug 13, 2021 | 11:29 AM

KAMLOOPS — The province is now requiring all long-term care employees and volunteers to be fully vaccinated. The B.C. Care Providers Association supports the move to make vaccines mandatory for staff.

CEO Terry Lake says the order from Dr. Bonnie Henry is important as B.C. and the rest of the world deals with COVID-19 variants that could further impact long-term care facilities.

“Since the vaccine has been available, we’ve been calling for this kind of policy. It will make long-term care and assisted living much safer,” said Lake. “With the rise of the Delta variant, we’ve seen eight outbreaks. Although we don’t have any in Kamloops at the moment, there’s two in Kelowna, there’s a number in the Lower Mainland, and some in the Kootenays. This vaccine is a real game-changer.”

Despite the majority of residents being fully vaccinated, there has been hesitancy among some workers to get the shot.

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“We, up until now, have not had the ability to collect vaccine information of staff. We know residents are over 95 per cent vaccinated, but we do know voluntarily that in some homes — for instance, the home in Campbell River on the Island that went into outbreak last week, only 60 per cent of the staff were vaccinated,” noted Lake. “That’s just not enough to provide a safe environment for our elders in care.”

Lake says the majority of volunteers at long-term care facilities are already vaccinated.