Unvaccinated doctors in Quebec could be investigated if they put their patients at risk: College of Physicians
Quebec’s College of Physicians (QCP) has issued a stern warning to its members that if they put their patients at risk by not being properly vaccinated, they could be investigated for their actions.
The admonition was relayed in an internal memo obtained by CTV News, that was sent to Quebec doctors by the College on Nov. 10.
It states that while they wait for a new version of a government decree on mandatory vaccination, the regulatory body “maintains that doctors have an ethical duty and social obligation to be adequately protected against COVID-19,” to protect their peers and the public.
As a result, if an unvaccinated doctor puts patients at risk, or “refuses to submit to public health recommendations,” which include being tested three times per week, they “could be reported to the College and possibly be investigated,” the memo said.
The government did an about-face on Nov. 3, deciding that health care workers already employed won't be forced to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
At the time, Health Minister Christian Dubé said that the province faced severe service disruptions if it was to proceed with its planned Nov. 15 deadline for staff vaccines.
As of a week ago, there were only about 200 doctors in the province who remained unvaccinated, according to figures released on the QCP’s website, bringing the rate of vaccination up to about 99 per cent.
200 TOO MANY
While that vaccination rate sounds impressive, an infectious diseases specialist said “it’s a little mind-boggling,” that even one per cent of all Quebec doctors have not yet gotten the two shots.
He backs the QCP’s firm approach to try and reach stragglers who for whatever reason have resisted the call and the science.
“I’m all for it. As physicians, we all take the Hippocratic oath, above all do no harm. Here we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” said Dr. Earl Rubin a specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
“To date, and we’re always learning as time goes on, the best option we have to prevent spread and putting people who are at high risk from getting it, is vaccination,” said Rubin.
“I have to say personally, it’s frustrating,” especially knowing that patients who are doubly vaccinated, he said, could still be vulnerable to breakthrough infections that can be dangerous especially for those with underlying health conditions and for seniors.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.