Vaccine mandate for B.C. health-care workers is now in effect

As of Oct. 26, health-care workers in B.C. are required to be immunized against COVID-19.

The mandate includes anyone who works in any kind of health-care setting, including students, volunteers, physicians, residents, contractors and all other health-care professionals. It also applies to people who work in home and community care locations, including client homes.

Those who remain unvaccinated will be placed on unpaid leave, and must receive a first dose by Nov. 15 if they want to keep their jobs unless they have a medical exemption. 

Troy Clifford, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. union that represents about 4,500 paramedics in the province, estimates about 150 of its members remain unvaccinated and risk job loss. 

Andrew MacPherson is one of those people. Although he says he loves his work as a paramedic — a job he's done for 13 years — some things "are more important" than his work. 

He refuses to disclose his vaccination status to his employer.

"The stakes are high, absolutely high. They're even higher if I lose my human rights to my own privacy and my own right to put whatever I want in my body," he told CBC's On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko.

His concerns about COVID-19 vaccines are similar to those expressed by other vaccine-hesitant people — uncertainties about safety and efficacy, particularly when it comes to the mRNA vaccines created by Pfizer-Biotech and Moderna.

Health officials in B.C., Canada and around the world say the vaccines are safe and adverse effects are rare. 

Clifford said he respects people's rights to make their own decisions.

"People have choices and our union absolutely respects people's choices," he said. "But there are laws that are being put in place, statutes that we have to abide by."

"Not all choices come with no consequences," he added.

When the vaccine mandate was announced, the B.C. Nurses' Union (BCNU) was critical of the decision, worrying that in areas where staff are already stretched thin that mandatory vaccines would make the situation worse. 

The BCNU did clarify, however, that it does support vaccines and encouraged members to get immunized.