“imagine bringing a sick child to cheo and all of the worries already on a parent or caregiver’s mind. they shouldn’t also have to worry about the vaccine status of our staff when they access care,” said cheo president and ceo alex munter. “this policy is one additional layer of protection for kids and families.”
about 70 per cent of patients at cheo and other children’s hospitals do not yet qualify for covid-19 vaccines.
ontario’s largest hospital network, university health network in toronto, will also require all staff to be vaccinated by sept. 8. the hospital said it would place staff on unpaid leave if they are not vaccinated by then.
but hospitals serving adults in ottawa will not mandate covid-19 vaccination.
on twitter monday, an intensive care nurse at the ottawa hospital said she thinks the policy is wrong.
“i’m a nurse at the icu at the ottawa hospital and i think vaccines should be mandatory for all staff,” she tweeted.
“as a nurse, i fully understand the value of free will, consent, body autonomy, all of it. but i’m done with half measures and the fact that we’re entering a 4th wave at all means we should quit f*ing around,” she wrote.
at a rally in ottawa on sunday, another ottawa nurse said she is frequently asked by concerned patients whether she is fully vaccinated. that is something patients should not have to worry about, said the nurse.