Bruce County has moved to rescind its Covid Immunization Policy for county-run long-term care homes.
The policy was put in place in April 2022, and required all current long-term care staff to have two Covid shots, and new staff required three doses.
Bruce County joins several other communities across Ontario that have scrapped mandatory vaccination policies for long-term care workers to meet updated Public Health guidance.
“Public Health guidance no longer supports the need for mandatory vaccination, the Ministry of Long-Term Care has requested that homes revisit their policies, in the current context of the pandemic. As a result of this request, many communities have rescinded their policies such as Simcoe, City of Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara, Lambton, and Peel,” a staff report to the committee says.
The county committee of the Long-Term Care Homes Committee of Management still strongly encourages everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and get appropriate booster doses to prevent the spread of severe illness to long-term care homes.