AHS said it continues to recommend that its health care workers receive all booster doses available to them.
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Alberta Health Services workers will no longer need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
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That’s a change that comes after the provincial health authority rescinded its workplace vaccination policy effective immediately Monday, with existing workers, new hires and students no longer required to have at least two vaccine doses.
In a news release, AHS said vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe illness from COVID-19. But they said emerging evidence indicates that immunization without booster shots has become less effective against infection with the virus as it has evolved into variant strains.
The health authority said its vaccine policy was put in place during the Delta wave of the virus, but that the policy is less effective in reducing transmission of the Omicron variants that now dominate in Alberta.
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AHS said it continues to recommend that its health care workers receive all booster doses available to them. They added that some pandemic safety measures are still in place at AHS facilities, including a mask mandate and a requirement that staff stay home when sick.
“The immunization policy was put in place to protect patients, healthcare workers and the public at a time during the pandemic when policy-required immunization was still effective in preventing transmission and when it was most needed to help contain transmission. the spread of COVID-19,” AHS Interim President and CEO Mauro Chies said in a statement.
“This was the correct policy at the time and was based on the best available evidence to protect our staff and patients…Policies and procedures have had to constantly evolve during the pandemic to reflect significant changes in the virus itself and the constantly changing evidence. as we continue to protect our people and patients.”
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Chies thanked the staff who were fully immunized. AHS said it will continue to monitor the scientific evidence on whether additional measures are needed.
In a statement, NDP opposition health critic David Shepherd accused the decision to rescind the vaccine requirement of being political in nature, not scientific.
“Anyone being cared for in a health facility needs to be assured that staff are vaccinated against COVID-19, among many other diseases,” Shepherd said.
“It is absurd to remove COVID-19 protection from the list of required vaccinations for new AHS staff. This virus has killed more than 4,600 Albertans, with patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities most at risk.”
Among Albertans age 12 and older, 87.2% consider themselves fully immunized against COVID-19, having received two doses of the vaccine. In the same age group, 45.2 percent have received a booster shot.
Twitter: @jasonfherring
