A Bruce County committee is going to look at rescinding the Covid Immunization Policy for county-run long term care homes this week.
The county’s long term care committee will be receiving the recommendation at its meeting Thursday from Director of Long-Term Care and Senior Services Megan Garland.
The policy hasn’t been amended since April 2022, when the county mandated long-term care home staff members have at least two Covid shots.
Staff were directed to return to the committee anytime provincial directives, community trends, or Public Health guidelines change.
In March, the Ministry of Long-Term Care and the Chief Medical Officer of Health advised they are working to normalize and embed effective Covid responses and measures into routine operations of long-term care homes.
“The science and Public Health guidance no longer supports the need for mandatory vaccination, the Ministry of Long-Term Care has requested that homes revisit their policies, in the current context of the pandemic. As a result of this request, many communities have rescinded their policies such as Simcoe, City of Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara, Lambton, and Peel,” says the report.
The report adds Human Resources is working with union partners to determine a path forward for employees whose employment with the county was impacted by this policy.