AHS to accept negative COVID-19 tests from unvaccinated workers at sites facing staff shortages
Alberta health-care workers who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as mandated by their employer will be allowed to submit negative tests instead, but only at facilities that would be short staffed without them.
Alberta Health Services president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu estimated about 260 employees at 16 locations across the province would fit the criteria.
"I want to be clear, the testing option is temporary and will be limited in scope. Only clinical work locations deemed to be at significant risk of service disruptions due to staffing shortages resulting from unvaccinated staff will be part of the testing program," she emphasized while announcing the accommodation on Monday.
AHS staff were previously given until Nov. 30 to get vaccinated or be approved for an exemption.
Roughly four per cent of full-time and part-time employees, half a per cent of doctors, and one per cent of ICU staff are either not immunized against COVID-19 or have not submitted their vaccine status. Together, they total about 3,000 health-care workers.
Yiu said AHS has "done all that we can do to encourage them."
"We've reached out to provide evidence-based reasons to get the vaccine and have worked hard to answer any concerns and questions that have been raised. And we have stressed just how valuable the vaccine is in protecting those in our care," she told media.
"Unfortunately, there are a small number of areas within our health-care system where a lack of vaccination may impact patient care and this raises concerns for us all."
Health Minister Jason Copping directed AHS to make the change to its immunization policy.
"The number one priority must always be patient care and ensuring all Albertans, regardless of where they live, have access to the health services that they need. I do not want to see health services in any community reduced because staff are unable to work," he said Monday.
To bring in the new testing policy, AHS is extending the vaccine deadline to Dec. 13.
Those who are eligible but choose to not get vaccinated will need to provide a proof of a negative and privately paid negative PCR test no more than 48 hours before the start of their shift. If they provide a negative rapid test, they will not be able to work until the results are confirmed by a follow-up PCR test.
Those who are eligible but choose not to get vaccinated or submit tests will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence.
Employees at all other sites who are not granted an exemption and are still unvaccinated on Dec. 13 will also be placed on an unpaid leave of absence.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.