The B.C. government has scrapped plans to expand the province’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate to all health-care workers in private practice – but will be adopting an “informed consent” system for patients who want to avoid unvaccinated service providers.
The move has two of the province’s most high-profile unions exploring whether that means hundreds of laid-off workers in other sectors of the health-care system could be reinstated.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the changes on Thursday, two weeks before the vaccination requirement for family doctors, dentists, chiropractors and a host of other regulated health professionals was scheduled to take effect.
