Bioethicist says vaccine is an obligation for health-care workers, but union worries it might compel some to quit

MONTREAL -

In a bid to keep Quebec hospitals from the brink in a fourth wave of COVID-19, Premier Francois Legault is calling for a vaccine mandate, even if it means some health-care workers will leave the field.

With active cases in the province exceeding 3,000 and 88 people currently in hospital, the government has called for mandatory vaccinations for all workers in the health network who regularly see patients for more than 15 minutes per day.

“We must put the safety of Quebecers first," he said during a brief media scrum Wednesday morning on the sidelines of the weekly cabinet meeting.

“If anyone should understand the importance of being doubly vaccinated, it's health-care workers," said Legault. “They must also be role models to convince the 15 per cent of Quebecers who have not yet received their first dose.”

So far, the decree on mandatory vaccination has been well received by the health-care community, including the Collège des médecins and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens.

The FIQ union, which represents nurses, said it strongly recommends vaccination to its members and favours education over a mandate.

FIQ said more than 90 per cent of its members are already vaccinated, and it doesn't agree with making vaccinations mandatory. A better idea is to carry out more testing, said FIQ vice-president Jerome Rousseau.

“Vaccination is the best way, but not the only way,” he said, adding that workers need to continue to receive proper protective gear and have constant testing, even for those who are vaccinated.

The CSQ union warned, though, that at a time when there's a shortage of health-care workers, forced vaccinations could lead to more staff leaving.

“We're not against it because we think everybody should be vaccinated, but is it the right way to get to that point?” said CSQ President Éric Gingras.

Pamela Villeneuve, an orderly at a long-term care facility in Laval, Que. said she loves working with seniors but no matter the consequences, she refuses to get vaccinated.

“There's still a lack of information about it. I get tested three times a week, never got COVID. I worked with COVID patients for a year, never caught it,” she said.

Nurse Naveed Hussain agreed with the government mandate.

“It should be mandatory,” said Hussain. “If you are in this profession, whether you're a doctor, nurse or PAB [orderly], I believe that providing care to your patients fully vaccinated is a duty.”

Bryn Williams-Jones, a bioethicist with Université de Montreal, said the duty of health-care workers is to put their patients’ needs first.

“Health professionals have a fundamental ethical and legal obligation for their patients' best interest first. It's how they're trained, so a colleague who doesn't want to because they say, ‘No, I don't believe the science,’ that person is dangerous,” said Williams-Jones.

- With files from The Canadian Press