The BC government has finally dropped Covid-19 vaccination requirements for BC Public service workers.
Late last week on Friday the province announced it has removed the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for BC Public service employees. But stressed the vaccine mandates will remain in place for healthcare professionals.
The province stated that starting on April 3, BC Public Service personnel will no longer be required reveal their private medical information regarding their COVID-19 vaccine status.
The government emphasised that instructions from the provincial health officer still apply to numerous health-care settings and that vaccination requirements still apply.
According to the BC government there’s about 30,000+ employees working for BC Public service.
The vaccine mandate was imposed on everyone in the public sector from front line workers to administration and extended to contractors and volunteers.
The province created a public emergency health order in November 2021 which mandated 2 doses of Covid-19 vaccine as a requirement for employment which was imposed on every job in the sector from working in the office, outside, working alone or even working from home with zero contact with anyone else.
BC Public Service employees, contractors and volunteers that did not provide their private medical status “proof of Covid-19 vaccination” to keep their jobs were laid off without pay.
The update says employees who were terminated for non-compliance with HR Policy 25 will remain terminated but they can re-apply to BC Public Service.
The BC Public Service Employees for Freedom (BCPSEF) said it’s pleased the province finally dropped the mandate “However, the lasting damage done and the incredible delay in making this decision requires rectification.”
BCPSEF also said it will need to consult with its legal counsel, Umar Sheikh of Sheikh Law in regards to the next steps in the current legal action.
“Prior to the announcement of the mandates being dropped, we had filed a judicial review challenging the constitutionality of the mandate, a wrongful-dismissal action for non-union employees, and failure-to-represent actions against the BC General Employees’ Union with the BC Labour Relations Board.”
Heathcare worker Covid-19 mandate
“I should also say that the vaccine requirement in health care and Public Health Care continues to be in place it’s based of course on provincial Health order” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Health Minister Adrian Dix claims the healthcare worker Covid-19 vaccine mandate will “protect” the provinces most vulnerable patients in acute care and long-term care.
All provinces in Canada have dropped Covid-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers with the exception of Nova Scotia.
Dr. Bonnie Henry emphasised that the type of workplace is the most important factor when making the decision between keeping the mandate for health-care professionals and lifting it for public service personnel saying healthcare workers are in the “highest-risk setting”.
“My advice applies to health-care settings,” she said. “Those provincial health officer orders remain in place because that is the highest-risk setting, both for health-care workers and for our patients and residents in our care.”
No where in the spring 2023 NACI Covid-19 booster report does it recommend to continue imposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates on healthcare workers or forcing new hires to get the first two doses.
“One can only hope that the same new science is applied to all sectors in British Columbia, especially healthcare in order to get back from the critical staffing levels caused by this government. These mandates have and continue to be ‘ego’ over substance.” Tweeted Umar Sheikh in response to the provinces announcement.
It’s unclear what Dix and Henry mean when they say the Covid-19 vaccine “protects” the most vulnerable in the healthcare system, they did not give any explanation, rationale or logic.
In February 2023, BC Rise reported on a conference with Dr. Bonnie Henry giving a Covid update, she said the healthcare worker Covid-19 mandate is to “reduce hospitalizations” but the shots don’t stop the spread, so by mandating healthcare workers to get the Covid-19 shot it’s not actually doing anything to “protect” vulnerable people in the healthcare system.
The Covid-19 vaccine mandate first appeared in the form of a Public Health Order in November 2021 when health official finally began to acknowledge real world statistics.
An obvious inconvenient fact that could no longer be denied by health officials, real world data showed evidence the Covid-19 ‘vaccines’ do not stop transmission or infection of Covid-19. Meaning individuals vaccinated and unvaccinated can both get infected and transmit Covid-19. This fact became accepted throughout society in early 2022 as Omicron infected vaccinated individuals at a large rate.
In February 2023 the New York Post reported on myths around Covid-19 that shaped public policy during the pandemic in which have now all been de-bunked.
