Provincial order on vaccine queue-jumpers riles unions

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This article was published 11/03/2021 (1828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HEALTH-care workers, who have been called heroes throughout the year-long pandemic, are upset the provincial government wants to treat them like cheaters.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals and the Manitoba Nurses Union questioned why the government would write a new emergency order that allows Shared Health to double-check the eligibility of health-care workers who have been vaccinated.

“So much for us being health-care heroes,” said Bob Moroz, president of the 6,500-member MAHCP, on Wednesday.

“This has been a very confusing and stressful time for a lot of people. It is really horrific the government publicized this… this latest move is unnecessary, punitive and disrespectful. It unfairly targets Allied Health Professionals and other health-care staff who have risked their safety to make sure Manitobans get the care they need during this pandemic.

“It is yet another slap in the face to our members from this government and there is clearly no emergency or other need for it.”

The basis for the double-checking is the suggestion some workers jumped the queue to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said even Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, has admitted he doesn’t know whether any queue-jumping has even happened.

“The use of the exceptional and extraordinary powers in emergency order legislation is certainly questionable, particularly since the government was responsible for the screening process and protocols,” said Jackson.

“It’s a very broad brush that we fear is more an exercise in deflection, rather than a proper and constructive use of limited health-care resources.”

The public health order, put in place March 5, allows Shared Health to check a person’s vaccination application to verify the information, and whether the person met the eligibility for the vaccine at the time it was given.

The order also allows Shared Health to share information on the vaccination application with the person’s employer. If it is determined the worker was not eligible for the vaccine, that information can be given to police, a professional college or governing body, or employer. The order applies to vaccine applications that back to Dec. 12, 2020, and it expires on April 15.

When questioned, Roussin said he doesn’t know if any queue-jumping has occurred, but “I think what brought it forward was there had been a number of complaints received from individuals reporting that individuals had jumped the queue, and when we looked back, through a number of the privacy legislation, we weren’t able to actually investigate that.

“So we don’t know whether anyone has done it, but this actually enables us to investigate when we get those complaints.”

A provincial spokesman said the emergency order creates a process so “should this audit find such evidence, the order also establishes a process to take further action, if warranted. As the audit process has only just been established, it would be premature to speculate on its findings.”

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said they don’t want to see anybody fake their way to the front of the line to get the vaccine.

“But we’ve also heard of many cases of vaccines being wasted and poured down the drain at the end of the day rather than give it to health-care workers on site,” said Lamont.

“Pallister and the PCs need to focus on getting people vaccinated, not finding new ways to stop them from getting the shot.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca