‘Everybody’s moral and ethical responsibility’; city doctors push for mandatory vaccines for healthcare staff

Dr. Debakanta Jena, a local physician, who was at one point the hospital’s chief of surgery, initiated the letter to the province. He said health-care workers should lead by example.

“A lot of our colleagues are working really hard during this pandemic and we all have been through it. So I think if a patient is coming to us for care, our patients in the community and the other healthcare workers that are working with us, it is everybody’s moral and ethical responsibility to take the vaccine so they have less chance of harbouring the virus,” Jena said.

The orthopedic surgeon said that while there is a lot of argument around vaccines, it remains the best source of protection from the virus. Jena pointed to the fact that AHS and city officials said that many of the COVID-19 patients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital are not vaccinated, or only partially.

“You just have to look around and see the numbers. Nobody comes to the hospital for fun and the people who are getting admitted, they are obviously feeling that sick, and the doctors in the emergency are assessing them as sick enough to admit them.”

Currently, there are 20 patients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with COVID-19. Seven of the 10 ICU beds are being used by COVID-19 patients. In a statement, Alberta Health Services said that Medicine Hat Regional Hospital remains a safe place to receive care, and they are monitoring hospital capacity.

“AHS continues to look at its bed capacity to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet pandemic healthcare needs. We monitor and respond as needed to COVID-19 service delivery needs while balancing with non-COVID service delivery needs. This work is not unique to our COVID-19 response. AHS uses surge capacity protocols whenever pressure on our hospitals increases. Our COVID response is an extension of these protocols,” Alberta Health Services said in a statement.

Jena said aside from protecting patients, the letter was spurred to help protect the workforce, noting isolation requirements have had an impact on staffing levels.

“We don’t have many staff and doctors as it is. We are running on very, very thin staff, now and if I am not vaccinated and potentially transmit it to others, even if they get a minor infection, they will be off work,” Dr. Jena explained.

Dr. Gerry Prince is another who signed the letter. He said COVID-19 is “clearly not gone,” and vigilance alone is not enough. Both Prince and Jena said they are unaware of the source of the outbreak, but he said unvaccinated staff are contributing to the outbreak

“Absolutely and I think that is part of the reason for the letter is just to say you know this is primarily a pandemic among the unvaccinated. Now there are some patients who have had both vaccines and still get sick, still, catch the virus, but their course is still better than those without the vaccination,”

It is unknown what percentage of healthcare workers are vaccinated at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, but Alberta Health Services said it is being looked at closely.

In Manitoba, vaccinations will be required for all provincial employees who work with vulnerable populations by Oct. 31. The Alberta government says they have no plans to initiate anything similar.

“Alberta is not considering mandatory vaccine mandates at this time. Albertans are encouraged to continue to sign up for both first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine to ensure long-term protection,” stated Lisa Glover, senior communications advisor with Alberta Health.

Dr. Paul Parks is a local ER physician and section president of emergency medicine with the Alberta Medical Association. He said the province has been downplaying the impact of COVID-19 and argues it is time for the province to step up and do something.

“We need help. We need the government to take active leadership, and we need the public to be aware of this and to put pressure on the government to do the right thing,” Parks said, noting a similar letter has been written by the Alberta Medical Association.

Parks noted it is also up to the public to do their part to reduce the spread, by getting vaccinated and by following public health measures.

Alberta Health Services sent the following statement to CHAT News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

“The cause of the outbreak at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital (MHRH) is under investigation, and immunization of healthcare workers is something that is being looked at closely.

There is no mandatory requirement for healthcare workers to be immunized in Alberta, however we strongly urge all physicians and staff members to get vaccinated as soon as possible, to protect themselves, their patients, and our communities.

MHRH remains a safe place to visit and to receive care. Any patient with symptoms, or who has tested positive for COVID-19, is isolated and treated in designated rooms. Patients currently at MHRH continue to receive safe, high quality care. There are no other service disruptions at the site and all emergency services remain open.

AHS continues to look at its bed capacity to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet pandemic healthcare needs. We monitor and respond as needed to COVID-19 service delivery needs while balancing with non-COVID service delivery needs. This work is not unique to our COVID-19 response. AHS uses surge capacity protocols whenever pressure on our hospitals increases. Our COVID response is an extension of these protocols.

There are currently 20 patients with COVID-19 at MHRH, including seven in the ICU. We strongly urge all Albertans to get immunized with both doses to protect themselves, and others – the vast majority of Albertans in our hospitals and ICUs are unvaccinated.

We also urge people to continue to follow simple COVID-19 precautions, such as staying home when sick, and regular hand washing. All AHS facilities, including the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, follow rigorous Infection Prevention and Control standards.

All healthcare workers are asked to self-assess for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure risk using a screening tool before reporting to a site for their shift, and our frontline teams are practicing continuous masking while at work.

Continuous eye protection is expected for all healthcare workers who are not fully vaccinated. Eye protection should be added to continuous masking for everyone (regardless of vaccination status) working on units dedicated to COVID-19 care and in areas that have declared outbreaks. Eye protection, masks, gowns and gloves are routine PPE while caring for patients with confirmed or suspect COVID-19 or Influenza-like illness.

Visitors entering the hospital are instructed to follow all appropriate measures. These restrictions are in place, minimizing any risk of transmission from outside of the hospital. For visitation information and restrictions at our AHS healthcare facilities, please visit https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page17001.aspx“

by Tiffany Goodwein

‘Everybody’s moral and ethical responsibility’; city doctors push for mandatory vaccines for healthcare staff

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