Staff refusing vaccinations at some rural Manitoba care homes

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This article was published 01/10/2021 (1610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most personal care home workers in Manitoba have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but some rural facilities are preparing to test up to a third of their employees who have so far refused to be immunized.

Julie Turenne-Maynard, executive director of the Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly, said staff immunization rates at homes in Southern Health reflect vaccination trends in the region.

“They have quite a few staff that are not vaccinated, that don’t intend to get vaccinated, and that’s going to create some problems for them in the upcoming weeks,” she said.

As of Oct. 18, personal care home staff in Manitoba who are not fully immunized will be required to take rapid antigen tests up to three times a week under a new provincial public health order signed Sept. 24. The order also requires homes to offer rapid tests on site.

Southern Health, which includes the communities of Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, Winkler, Morden and Altona, has the lowest level of vaccine coverage in the province at 65.7 per cent.

In Steinbach, 64.5 per cent of the eligible population had at least one dose as of Thursday; in Winkler, the rate was 41.3 per cent.

Turenne-Maynard said while the private, non-profit homes MARCHE represents in Winnipeg and the Prairie Mountain health region have reported staff vaccination levels above 90 per cent, “it’s a different story” in the south.

That creates logistical headaches too, she said.

“Any rapid testing that needs to be supervised takes more resources and the more staff that you have that need that test the more resources you need,” Turenne-Maynard said. “So, there could be the necessity to have additional resources brought to the facilities that have lower vaccination rates, just for work purposes, just to get on your shift on time.”

“But if it’s something that needs to be done, it’s something that needs to be done.”

Turenne-Maynard said care home operators, particularly in rural areas, are receiving pushback from some employees over mandatory vaccination policies, which could lead to resignations in homes already under staffing pressures.

Vaccine hesitancy is high in the region and personal care homes are already competing against other sectors for their workers, she added.

“It could create some problems, and for all homes, resident care and resident safety is of the utmost concern,” she said. “You need to do whatever you have to do in order to ensure that your residents are being cared for to the level that they deserve.”

Operators would have also been left in a difficult position had the provincial government made immunization a condition of employment, rather than offer rapid tests, she said.

“Some people who don’t want to get vaccinated think that if they rebuke this that the government will back down,” she said. “But if that occurs, then it defeats the purpose of trying to protect and ensure the safety of all people who are working in this field.

“In rural communities, they are challenged in any circumstances to have and find the resources that they need to work in their homes,” she said.

In Winnipeg and other urban areas, care home operators are reporting staff vaccination rates between 90 and 98 per cent, said Jan Legeros of the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba.

The association represents 35 homes operating about 50 per cent of the long-term care beds in the province.

“Everybody is really well ahead of the game here in terms of the October deadline,” Legeros said. “For my members, I would say that everyone had embraced this idea long before the public health order was put in place.”

Private, for-profit personal care home operators Revera and Extendicare have already told staff vaccination will be mandatory as of Oct. 12. Employees who are not immunized will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence. Testing will not be offered as an accommodation.

Legeros said association members have also shared mixed reviews on offering tests to accommodate staff who are not immunized. Some independent care homes have already joined Revera and Extendicare and introduced mandatory vaccination policies, she noted.

“The executive directors are still working very hard to talk to their staff that are hesitant and ensure that they have all the education and information that they need, and are trying very hard to help them understand how important it is to be vaccinated,” Legeros said.

“So that they can not only remain working in the environment but without all the hassle of testing, but also for their own health and the health of their loved ones around them.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca