Beginning October 12th, B.C.’s Public Health Officer has established a new vaccine mandate for staff working in long-term care homes across the province, requiring that staff have been verified to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination before they are allowed to work in care homes.
The new mandate specifies that employees must have at least one vaccine dose by October 12th to continue working. Until staff are considered to be fully vaccinated they will have to conduct daily rapid testing and must plan to receive their second dose within 28-35 days of their first vaccination.
We anticipate that the health order may affect staffing levels of many BCCPA members. Interest in the vaccine mandate story from media outlets has been high, with interviews being conducted with BCCPA board Vice President Hendrick Van Ryk, Menno Place CEO Karen Biggs, BCCPA CEO Terry Lake, and VP of Public Affairs Mike Klassen to discuss about the mandate and challenges that long-term care homes may face. See below a number of Twitter posts showcasing these media reports.
In case you missed it, here is @TerryLake19's interview with @CTVNationalNews discussing about the #vaccinemandate for #longtermcare staff and what challenges will ensue after it.https://t.co/WO3KhhN8UI
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 12, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine mandate now in place for B.C. workers in long-term care, assisted living | CBC News @TerryLake19 @cbcnewsbc https://t.co/mzVsYPiSj8
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 12, 2021
In case you missed it, BCCPA CEO @TerryLake19 was on "CBC Radio: On The Coast" with Gloria Macarenko @CBCGloria to talk about the new COVID-19 vaccine mandate for staff working in long-term care.https://t.co/pzyOKSuwRD
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 13, 2021
B.C. care homes deal with staffing shortages as COVID-19 vaccine deadline passes https://t.co/feecuMmt9x
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 13, 2021
BCCPA CEO @TerryLake19 was on The Jill Bennett Show @jillreports to talk about the #vaccinemandate in #longtermcare. @CKNW
Listen here: https://t.co/AByZ2jrwBX
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 12, 2021
B.C. long-term care worker vaccine mandate now in effect https://t.co/F0uNskuabp
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/MikeKlassen/status/1447930809902583838
Staff in long-term care and assisted living now need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to go to work. https://t.co/QaJ3zsTK6w #Kamloops #covid19 pic.twitter.com/fIlQT9wwxh
— RadioNLNews (@RadioNLNews) October 13, 2021
Ninety-five percent of workers in BC long-term care homes have been vaccinated as mandate kicks in. @globeandmail @TerryLake19 https://t.co/AYuElMoYIN
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) October 13, 2021
