N.S. says 99% of health workers meet requirement

Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness says 99 per cent of healthcare, continuing care, paramedics and education employees mandated to have at least one COVID-19 vaccination by Tuesday have done so.

The release issued Tuesday also said 99 per cent of provincial government employees have at least one dose.

Tuesday marked the deadline for employees affected by the mandates to provide their employers proof of vaccination for COVID-19.

“Nova Scotians are showing they care about the people they serve by getting vaccinated and keeping them safe,” Premier Tim Houston said in the release. “I’m told there will be few disruptions to service as vaccination rates are very high.”

Under the requirements, those who are partially vaccinated may be subject to other health and safety measures, including testing. Those who do not have a first dose by Tuesday will face employment consequences, including unpaid leave, beginning Wednesday.

The release said the provincial government is working with organizations to “monitor and address any impacts,” adding that most expect they won’t have to use contingency plans that are in place.

POTENTIAL SCHOOL BUS DELAYS

However, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development advised that there may be some disruption to school busing in Halifax Regional Centre for Education and small pockets in other education regions.

School regions are working with their bus providers and staff to mitigate impacts to students and families, the release said. In HRCE, drivers may be assigned to new routes and one driver may need to cover an additional route before and after school, leading to potential delays for students. Families will be notified if there is a change or delay to their child’s bus route.

Deborah Waines-bauer, spokeswoman for HRCE’S transportation department, wrote in an email that the overwhelming majority of HRCE employees have confirmed they are either fully vaccinated or are partially vaccinated with a plan to get their second dose.

“We have a very small number of employees who have chosen not to comply with Nova Scotia’s COVID19 Mandatory Vaccination Protocol in High-risk Settings and are being placed on leave,” Waines-bauer wrote on Tuesday. “We are not anticipating any significant impacts on the daily operation of schools.”

She confirmed that there are ongoing challenges with driver shortages with transportation providers and the vaccine mandate protocol will result in some delays and service disruptions.

“Our priority is to ensure that all students from pre-primary to Grade 12 have a bus to ride on, to and from school, each day,” Waines-bauer said. “We have communicated with families about the challenges facing our providers and we will continue to communicate with families so they are proactively informed of any changes to their bus schedules.”

HRCE is working “diligently” to find solutions and minimize the impact, she wrote.

IMPACT ON LONG-TERM CARE

The Department of Seniors and Long-term Care advised that workforce shortages mean that even a small number of unvaccinated staff could result in a facility or agency not being able to accept new residents or seniors. Contingency plans could include using employment agencies and travelling nursing staff and offering part-time and casual staff fulltime employment.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Liberal Leader Iain Rankin said the province needs a clear plan.

“While the numbers are showing the majority of our public service workers are rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated, there are still hundreds who aren’t. And won’t,” Rankin said. “The Houston government needs to have a plan in place to deal with this labour disruption.”

NDP Leader Gary Burrill welcomed news of the high rate of vaccination but also called for more action on staff shortages.

“The high levels of participation from health care and education workers show that the people of Nova Scotia continue to do what’s called for,” Burrill said in an email on Tuesday.

“While a large percentage of workers have been vaccinated, there are still concerns over how the Conservative government will address staff shortages, particularly in long-term care facilities that are already dealing with a lack of qualified employees.”

Burrill said the Houston government should be upfront with Nova Scotians with details about the contingency plans.

STATISTICS

As of the end of Monday, most sectors or organizations under the COVID-19 vaccination mandate are reporting first or fully vaccinated rates of:

- Nova Scotia Health Authority: 96.5 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95 per cent on November 24), 3.1 per cent partially vaccinated, 23,422 total employees with 91.3 per cent reporting (up from 90 per cent)

- IWK Health Centre: 99.2 per cent (no change), 0.6 per cent partially vaccinated, 3,573 total employees with 99.4 per cent reporting (no change)

- long-term care: 96.1 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95 per cent), 2.1 per cent partially vaccinated, 11,027 total employees with 98.0 per cent reporting (up from 95 per cent) - home care: 95.3 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95), three per cent partially vaccinated, 3,821 total employees with 97.1 per cent reporting (up from 97 per cent)

- education: 97.8 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 97 per cent), 1.3 per cent partially vaccinated, 18,726 total employees with 96.4 per cent reporting (up from 90 per cent)

- Emergency Health Services (EHS): 98.8 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), 0.8 per cent partially vaccinated, 1,353 total employees with 100 per cent reporting (up from 92 per cent)

- adult day programs (Seniors and Long-term Care): 94.6 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 94 per cent), no employees partially vaccinated, 76 total employees with 97.4 per cent reporting

- correctional services: 98.7 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), 0.8 per cent partially vaccinated, 527 total employees with 99.4 per cent reporting

- Community Services (Disability Support Program and Child and Youth Caring Program): 93.9 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 93 per cent), 4.4 per cent partially vaccinated, 8,269 total employees with 97.2 per cent reporting

- daycares: 94.5 per cent full vaccinated (up from 93 per cent), 3.8 per cent partially vaccinated, with 97.1 per cent of facilities reporting

- Hearing and Speech NS: 99.4 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), no employees partially vaccinated, 173 total employees with 100 per cent reporting.

Twenty exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate were granted:

- two human rights exemptions have been granted out of 134 requests

- 18 medical exemptions have been granted out of 49 requests

A final update on the mandates will be provided by the end of the week.

No further information will be available until the final update.