alberta looking at legality of mandatory covid vaccines in workplaces
the province is also looking at whether or not to offer booster shots to people who are at higher risk of falling seriously ill from covid-19.
aug 19 2021
2 minute read
alberta chief medical officer of health dr. deena hinshaw gives a covid-19 pandemic update from the media room at the alberta legislature in edmonton on july 28, 2021.
ian kucerak
/
postmedia, file
by: lauren boothby
alberta is looking at the legal implications of making covid-19 vaccinations mandatory in the workplace, the province’s top doctor says.
chief medical officer of health dr. deena hinshaw made the statement wednesday during a virtual town hall for primary care providers attended by about 600 people, including postmedia. she responded to a question about why the province wasn’t making vaccines mandatory in high-risk settings for exposure of vulnerable people to covid-19, like in health care and schools.
“we are looking at legal implications, working with the labour ministry around what kinds of considerations would need to be taken into account, so that if there are employers who make vaccination mandatory we have a clear framework for that,” she said.
“we know that other provinces have made vaccines mandatory in some settings … and it’s just really important to be looking at all of the implications of that policy before a decision is made.”
asked about ontario’s vaccination policies for health care and education, she said the decision isn’t up to her.
“that’s something that, in order to consider whether or not this is something that would be possible here, we would have to look at our current legal environment … i really wouldn’t be able to speak on behalf of decision-makers on that particular topic.”
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in a presentation, hinshaw said recent vaccine requirements for interprovincial air travel, federal requirements for those working in government jobs, and requirements to be vaccinated to attend some alberta universities is creating more incentives to get the jab.
“both developments, that are outside of provincial interventions, yet will still hopefully have an impact on uptake,” she said.
booster shots considered
the province is also looking at whether or not to offer booster shots to people who are at higher risk of falling seriously ill from covid-19.
hinshaw said they are waiting to hear back from the national advisory committee on immunizations before deciding what to do.
“we are looking at third doses for those who have immunocompromising conditions … but no decisions have been made. because it really does have to go back to the evidence about who needs what dose at what time interval … and how does that impact the longer-term protection that vaccines provide.”
officials said earlier wednesday a decision will be made in september .
wastewater testing
the province is also looking to expand its wastewater testing to cover about 70 per cent of the province and make that data available to the public, she said.
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“the advantage of this is it helps us to monitor the activity of the virus without as much impact from a behavioural standpoint,” she said. “our current testing protocols rely on people choosing to get tested on symptoms and over time that may change depending on the population’s willingness to get tested.”
the province has been running pilot projects on wastewater testing in various place, she said, and using it to test for covid-19 more extensively would help give them reliable and consistent information on covid-19 trends, she said.
“(this) can help us understand where we’re seeing as higher transmission risk, which can help inform people in terms of making risk-based decisions about what activities they may want to do or not do,” hinshaw said.
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