Masks no longer mandatory for B.C. nurses who haven’t had flu vaccine
Posted December 4, 2019 8:09 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Nurses in B.C. who haven’t had a flu vaccine are no longer required to wear masks.
The President of the BC Nurses Union, Christine Sorensen, welcomes the move away from a policy that she calls “punitive” and “ineffective.” She says the Provincial Health Officer’s former policy required nurses to get the flu vaccine, and if they didn’t they were forced to wear masks.
“This was of concern to the nurses because they were having difficulty providing patient care, particularly in areas where patients had dementia, were hearing impaired or had a mental illness,” explains Sorensen.
Vaccination is strongly encouraged, but Sorensen says the change in policy allows nurses to use their professional judgment.
“Where they make a choice not to be vaccinated for personal reasons or health reasons, they will no longer be punished for doing that and they will no longer be forced to wear a mask,” Sorensen says, adding there’s no evidence masks are effective at reducing flu transmission.
“Nurses were very, very distressed about this. They felt like they were constantly being watched to see if they would fail to meet the criteria of wearing a mask at all times. And they could, at times, have letters of warning, letters of reprimand, letters of discipline on their file, even up to and including termination – although I’m not sure that occurred in this province,” she says.
She adds nurses who were required to wear a mask under the old policy were immediately identifiable as unvaccinated, which could lead to invasive questions or judgmental reactions invading their privacy.
Sorensen says some nurses decide against vaccination because they have had adverse reactions in the past, because of a medical condition, or as a matter of personal choice.
