Thousands of unvaccinated health workers remain in B.C., including 906 nurses, 86 paramedics

Three thousand and seventy-one unvaccinated health-care workers in B.C. remain on unpaid leave, officials revealed Tuesday.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said this number includes 1,032 casual staff, 989 full-time staff, 819 part-time staff and 16 people whose job status is unknown.

3:09 COVID-19: 3,071 unvaccinated health-care workers are on unpaid leave in B.C. right now

Breaking it down further, Dix said 28 are in emergency medicine, 105 in general medicine, 246 care aides and community assistants, 19 from internal medicine, 906 nurses, 86 paramedics and 10 resident doctors.

Meanwhile, B.C. is expecting a shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine soon, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

2:40 COVID-19: Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine expected to arrive next week in B.C.

Unvaccinated health workers will be offered this one-dose vaccine first, Henry said, because it might be a better option for people who are more vaccine-hesitant but want to keep working.

On Nov. 1, health officials said 3,325 health-care workers, or about 2.6 per cent of the workforce, were not yet vaccinated and had been placed on unpaid leave.

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Dix said about 122,000 of B.C.’s 127,500 health-care workers have been fully vaccinated, or almost 96 per cent. Another 2,064 workers have received one dose, while the remainder is not vaccinated and on leave.

The missing staff had put pressure on some hospitals in the province and as a result, some surgeries had to be postponed.

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These pressures continue to lead to delays in scheduled surgeries, Dix said, but he assured everyone who requires a non-urgent surgery that they will get it as soon as possible.

In relation to the COVID-19 numbers in the province, British Columbia reported 1,438 new cases over a three-day span from Friday to Monday, along with 17 additional deaths.

There were 553 cases from Friday to Saturday, while 462 cases were reported from Saturday to Sunday and 423 from Sunday to Monday. Two of the cases were epi-linked.

Of the new cases, 575 were in the Fraser Health region, 155 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 321 were in the Interior Health region, 221 were in Island Health and 166 were in Northern Health.

The totals bring the province’s seven-day average for new cases up slightly to 488.

2:27 Nearly 11,000 healthcare workers in B.C. have been infected with COVID-19

In Northern Health, 109 people have been airlifted out of hospitals to other parts of B.C. to make space for more patients in those areas. Of those, 97 people have tested positive for COVID-19, Dix added.

On the upcoming flu season, Henry said B.C. has already recorded four cases of flu. She said while this is a small number, everyone should get their flu shot.

“Now is the time to get protected before the holiday season,” she said.

As for plans for the holiday season, Henry said to keep indoor groups small and make sure everyone has been vaccinated.

“If they are joining you, you need to do more to protect them.”

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