The Interior Health region will be the hardest hit in the province due to high levels of unvaccinated healthcare workers, warns B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix as he pledged full support for the region.
An estimated 3.2 per cent of the province’s healthcare workers failed to get even one dose of COVID-19 vaccine before the Oct. 26 deadline imposed by the public health order. In the Interior Health region this number balloons to nearly 7.0 per cent unvaccinated. This amounts to 1,369 healthcare workers out of a provincial total of 126,343.
Dix noted that this group of unvaccinated healthcare workers in Interior Health, “is more than in Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health combined.”
While stating it is an issue that the ministry is working on addressing with Interior Health, Dix added that he’s hopeful more of these healthcare workers will get immunized which has been occurring in recent days.
“One of the things about this pandemic has been, I think, how closely everyone has worked together to support one another,” Dix said, adding that measures are in place to support people in Interior Health.
“Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve taken steps to support regions of the province that at one point of the pandemic or another have faced more challenges. I want to say to everybody in the Interior – we will be there for you, just as the healthcare system was there for people in the North and in Fraser Health and on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver Coastal Health throughout this pandemic.”
All told, 4,090 health workers across the province were set to be put on unpaid leave if they failed to get at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by Oct. 26 to keep working.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Oct. 25, B.C. Dix said it was a “solemn day” and the vaccine mandate was “a necessary step and an important one,” to protect patients, health workers and the health system. He added that 97 per cent of healthcare workers have at least one vaccine dose, while 95 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Dix warned that the health system is under immense strain in the province. In the Interior Health region base bed capacity in hospitals has already been exceeded. The majority of these hospitalised COVID-19 patients (77 per cent) do not have even one dose of the vaccine.
Responding to queries from the Times-Chronicle Dix’s office said Interior Health is carefully reviewing the impact of the Provincial Health Officer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination order on staffing, and “where needed, will be implementing strategies to ensure people continue to receive the best care possible.”
“Plans are in place to adjust bed use and to ensure we continue to provide appropriate care to all patients. At times, hospital beds may need to be closed intermittently throughout the hospital to adjust for staffing pressures. These numbers will fluctuate based on staffing,” his office said.
The Health Ministry also says it is working with health authorities to ensure that if workers’ failure to get vaccinated creates unexpected pressures on the healthcare system, “contingency plans are in place to make sure British Columbians continue to get the care they deserve.”
These contingency plans include offering staff additional shifts (including overtime) and redeploying staff from other areas. The Ministry says it is still reviewing the data and hopes to provide more information in the coming weeks.
There have been no reports as yet from the South Okanagan General Hospital on the impact to its operations from the vaccination mandate, with Judy Sentes, chair of the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital saying she will only have a clear picture after being updated at the next board meeting on Nov. 4. This also coincides with the hospital board election.
Meanwhile, over a three-day period, the province is now reporting 1,370 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases:
• Oct. 29-30: 568 new cases
• Oct. 30-31: 470 new cases
• Oct. 31-Nov. 1: 332 new cases
The new/active cases include:
• 603 new cases in Fraser Health
• 124 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
• 222 new cases in Interior Health
• 203 new cases in Northern Health
• 218 new cases in Island Health\
There are 4,668 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and of the active cases, 436 individuals are in hospital and 140 are in intensive care.
People not fully vaccinated account for just over 65 per cent of cases and nearly 74 per cent of hospitalizations.
Over the 72 hour period during the weekend from Oct 29-31, 25 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,181 in the province.
