Quebec’s professional orders should tighten up with members as vaccination deadline approaches: Dubé | The Canadian News

Quebec’s professional healthcare orders should make COVID-19 vaccination a condition for its members to stay up-to-date, Health Minister Christian Dubé said on Friday.

Dubé’s comments were the latest attempt by the government to pressure healthcare workers before the October 15 deadline, after which unvaccinated employees in the healthcare sector face a suspension without pay.

He said groups representing healthcare professionals, such as nurses and respiratory therapists, should consider following the lead of the province’s order of doctors, the Collège des medecins, which announced that it would suspend the right to practice medicine of any member who refuses to be vaccinated.

“It is up to (the health orders) to take a clear position that people must be vaccinated to practice in the health field,” Dubé told reporters in Montreal.


Click to play video: 'Calls are growing for Quebec to delay mandatory vaccination deadline for healthcare workers'



Calls are growing for Quebec to delay mandatory vaccination deadline for healthcare workers


Calls are growing for Quebec to delay mandatory vaccination deadline for healthcare workers

He also suggested that the government and professional orders were considering tightening regulations to prevent some frontline healthcare workers from accepting jobs in the private sector where they will not have direct interaction with patients.

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“There is a position that the different professional orders are developing, and I think that people who thought they could perhaps go to practice elsewhere could face surprises in the next few days,” said Dubé.

Meanwhile, Quebec on Friday reported 643 new cases of COVID-19 and five more deaths attributed to the new coronavirus. Total hospitalizations increased by five, to 302, while the number of people in intensive care dropped by two, to 86.

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Dubé said earlier this week that some 13,000 health workers in the province had not received a single dose of vaccine, and said the government would present a “contingency plan” next week to address how the network would cope with the shortage of workforce.

On Friday, he said that between 300 and 400 healthcare workers every day are receiving a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and urged all other unvaccinated workers to do the same to avoid interruptions in service.

“Keep getting vaccinated,” he said. “It is the best solution to arrive at a contingency plan with the least possible impact.”

Read more:

Quebec registers 5 more deaths, 643 new cases attributed to COVID-19

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The Quebec Public Health Institute says 89.8 percent of the population 12 years and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 86.3 percent are fully vaccinated.

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