The Ontario government says they’re hoping to remove COVID-19 vaccination mandates by March 1 for high-risk workplaces and businesses, including mandates for healthcare staff.
When speaking at a virtual press conference on the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on February 17, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, says the mandatory policies for hospitals, colleges, universities and more have ‘served their purpose’, and the province is hoping to lift them by the start of next month.
“The need for vaccination policies across Ontario sectors is no longer necessary,” says Moore. “We’ve started those conversations on when we will remove immunization policy requirements, and I do think we should align their removal with the removal at a population level, so March 1. That’s my goal.”
Moore stressed that the government has not mandated that workers be immunized, rather, Ontario has mandated that high-risk workplaces develop and implement an immunization policy that aims to educate and encourage staff to get vaccinated, with unvaccinated staff required to take regular rapid antigen testing.
For example, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora’s mandatory immunization policy states that all hospital staff, professional staff, volunteers, visitors, learners, contractors and service providers all need to provide proof-of-vaccination – and the policy could be continued by hospital leadership.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford refused to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for healthcare staff across the province last year.
But, the province did mandate vaccination policies for all hospitals, publicly-funded school boards, licensed childcare settings, retirement homes, women’s shelters, post-secondary institutions, congregate group homes, programming for adults with developmental disabilities and children’s treatment centres.
“They have done their intended purpose, which was to improve immunization and further protect Ontarians. I thank all Ontarians that have come forward to get vaccinated,” explains Moore. “But they have served their purpose to protect us. With any public health measure, they have to be removed in a timely-manner.”
For the federal government’s side of things, their mandatory vaccination policies remain in place for the House of Commons, those in the public sector, federally-regulated air, rail and marine transportation staff, travellers on those modes of transportation, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, road transportation crews, and banking and telecommunications staff.
Moore notes that Ontario’s proof-of-vaccination requirements and capacity limits in remaining indoor settings will be lifted by March 1, but businesses and other settings may continue to require proof-of-vaccination after that date.
“I do think that the peak risk of Omicron is behind us. There remains a risk of transmission every day, hence the need to continue to wear our masks at present. But we will review the evidence on when we can reduce that public health measure of masking in public spaces,” adds Moore.
There’s still no timeline on when masking will be removed, but Ontario says a plan will be coming soon.