ontario long-term care homes must have vaccination policy for staff

by: antonella artusothe ontario government will require all long-term care homes to put in place an immunization policy for staff by july 1 but stopped short of ordering mandatory vaccinations.under the new policy, long-term care (ltc) staff will need to provide proof of vaccination against covid-19, a medical exemption confirmed by a doctor or nurse practitioner, or take an educational course that discusses the benefits of vaccinations and the risks of not getting the jabs.dr. barbara yaffe, ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, said the policy gives workers a choice.“this kind of policy, i believe, is based on policy that is used in some hospitals,” yaffe said monday. “it’s a good idea. it certainly makes sure that people have the information to make an informed decision.”almost 100% of ltc residents have been immunized against covid-19, but the rate drops to 70%-75% in staff on average — with very low rates in some nursing homes, yaffe said.“in terms of employees, you cannot require somebody to be vaccinated unless it’s a condition of hire, as i understand, but you can require them to provide proof if the policy of the institution is that they have a choice — vaccinate, exemption, education,” yaffe said. “i see this as a very positive trend.”western university has announced that students planning to live in residence will be required to prove they’ve been vaccinated against covid-19 or seek accommodation under medical or other protected grounds in the ontario human rights code.this policy could be effective in other kinds of institutions, providing them with valuable information about who is vaccinated if there’s an outbreak, yaffe said.covid-19 vaccines are not approved currently for individuals under the age of 12 in canada, but similar requirements for school children may be considered if that policy changes, she said.outbreaks in work and other settings remain a significant source of covid-19 infections, according to provincial public health data.yaffe warned that a large outbreak at the mary river mine in nunavut involving the india-identified variant has already led to a small number of cases of covid-19 in ontario.of the 1,000 workers at the mine, about 300 are from ontario and fly in and out of the site, she said.any of the mineworkers who have returned to ontario since april 30 should be self-isolating and get tested for covid-19, she said.aartuso@postmedia.com