Copping slams health-care workers opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandate as Alberta ICUs see 268 patients

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Claims by health-care workers opposed to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees of Alberta Health Services are dangerous and misleading, said Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping, as intensive care unit admissions reach a record high.

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In an open letter dated Sept. 20, a group of health-care workers calling themselves Health Professionals United objected to the requirement to be fully immunized against COVID-19 by Oct. 31.

The letter has more than 3,500 signatories, including 73 doctors and 1,100 nurses. Many of those who signed did not provide their full name.

At the time of the announcement, AHS said the decision to require vaccination is in part due to health-care workers having an “ethical and professional responsibility to protect others” and vaccination is a tool to help do so.

AHS already requires immunizations for frontline employees. Staff not immunized against influenza, for example, may be assigned to other areas or be restricted from working. New employees must also provide proof of vaccination for other diseases such as measles and hepatitis B.

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Any employee who is unable to be immunized against COVID-19 due to a medical reason or for reasons under the Alberta Human Rights Act will be “reasonably accommodated.”

In a statement in response to the letter issued Wednesday, Copping said his concern is the message the open letter sends to the 630,000 Albertans who are eligible to be vaccinated but have not yet done so.

“I think most of them are sincerely uncertain and looking for guidance, and I’m deeply concerned the letter could influence some of them to choose not to be vaccinated,” Copping said.

“That’s a serious concern, because the claims in the letter are misleading or incorrect. So I want to speak directly to Albertans who are still considering whether to get vaccinated. I urge you to make your decision based on better information than this letter. Listen to our chief medical officer of health, Dr. Hinshaw, or the countless other physicians, health-care professionals (as well as their governing colleges) and scientists who publicly support vaccination.”

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As of end-of-day Tuesday, 83.4 per cent of eligible Albertans aged 12 and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination and 74.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Alberta reported 1,682 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Over the previous 24 hours, 15,025 COVID-19 tests were completed for a positivity rate of approximately 11 per cent.

Across the province, there were 20,306 active cases Wednesday, a decrease of 207 from Tuesday

There are 1,084 Albertans hospitalized with COVID-19, a decrease of 16. Of those, 268 are in intensive care units, an increase of five, and a record high. The previous record was reached on Monday, when there were 265 patients in ICUs.

Thirty-four more deaths raised the provincial death toll to 2,697.

AHS said in a statement Wednesday that physicians and staff at some intensive care units in the Edmonton Zone have been receiving harassing phone calls from people questioning patient numbers and capacity.

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“It is unacceptable for anyone to harass our staff and physicians — it’s never acceptable and it’s unfathomable now,” the health authority said.

“ICU and overall hospital capacity in the Edmonton Zone and across the province remains high, with Edmonton currently sitting at 87 per cent and overall provincial capacity at 84 per cent.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Medical Association says there is an “unprecedented health-care crisis” in Alberta and Saskatchewan as both provinces grapple with the fourth wave of COVID-19.

“Early relaxation of public health measures has left two crumbling health-care systems in their wake and the dire realities are now in full view,” said CMA president Dr. Katharine Smart in a letter Wednesday.

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The CMA is calling on the provincial and federal governments to work together to increase vaccination rates through mandatory vaccination in health-care settings, institute “fire-breaker” public health measures to aggressively control COVID-19 cases, increase the mobility of health-care workers between provinces and support the safe transportation of patients to other jurisdictions who have ICU capacity.

The letter notes any and all measures available must be taken to curb deaths, support workers and address the consequences of patients whose care has been put on hold while hospitals deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients.

“This is a time for courageous action, and for politics to step out of the way of needed collaboration,” Smart said.

“This is a time for governments, businesses, and citizens to step up and do the right thing. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures — and that time is now.”

ajunker@postmedia.com

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