A representative of B.C.'s Hospital Employees' Union says they have seen some "negative pushback" to the return of unvaccinated workers to the health-care sector.
“There are some that are very disenfranchised, a bit, by the fact that now the non-vaccinated are being welcomed back," said Troy Zhoner, union representative.
"A lot of negative pushback from employees or members that had got the vaccination, they felt, in order to keep their employment,” he continued.
The topic came up at a recent roundtable discussion with Premier David Eby and Vernon health-care professionals and stakeholders.
Eby acknowledged the frustration some health-care workers may be feeling, but said the province will continue to emphasize the “importance of vaccination for health-care workers to keep patients safe.”
“We're putting in place the requirement that all health-care workers declare their vaccination status against a series of potential infections, not just COVID,” said Eby.
“The reason for that is if there's an infection of measles, for example… then we're able to pull unvaccinated health workers and ensure that they're not exposing patients to infectious diseases.”
B.C. was one of the last jurisdictions in the world to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health-care workers.
The BC Nurses' Union has previously said it will be closely watching the development of the registry to ensure nurses' rights are protected.
