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
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.