B.C. public service employees will be placed on unpaid leave if still unvaccinated by Nov. 22

Any public service employee who has not received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 22 will be placed on unpaid leave for three months, B.C. health officials say.

Workers who still aren't vaccinated after that period "may be terminated,"Health Minister Adrian Dix said during a news conference Monday.

"This is a necessary step to support vaccination and help protect all of our workplaces and communities from COVID-19," Dix said.

Roughly 30,000 people work in public service in B.C. The province announced last month that vaccines for those workers would be mandatory.

3,300 in health-care on leave

Separately, in the health-care sector, more than 3,300 workers are now on unpaid leave because they were not immunized by the Oct. 26deadline for mandatory vaccination.

The number is down from 4,090 from last week, but still accounts for 2.6per cent of the health-care workforce. It also accounts for five per cent of health-care workers in Interior Health.

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Dr. Bonnie Henry made her comments Monday as the province announced 3,325 health-care workers in B.C. 2.5 per cent of the workforce are unvaccinated and on unpaid leave.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said any loss of staff is another challenge for an exhaustedhealth-care system.

But she wasn't readily inviting backstaff who still have not beenimmunized.

"If people are in our health-care system and not recognizing the importance of vaccination, then this is probably not the right profession for them, to be frank," she said during the news conference Monday.

"The impact [of vaccines] we've seen in the last almost two years now of this pandemic ... if now is not the time that you start to believe in the importanceand the value of vaccination in protecting people, then I don't know when is."

Kelowna General Hospital is down two operating roomsthis week because of staff who are on unpaid leave, Dix said. The facility has alsopostponed non-urgent eye care so workers can be divertedto urgent care.

The minister said "avery small number of surgeries" have been postponed in the FraserHealth region, butcancellations in the region are not expected to continue past next week.

Ninety-seven per cent of health-care workers are vaccinated, Dix noted.

Last week, the province announced everyone in B.C. will have access to a COVID-19 booster shot over the next several months. People who are immunocompromised, people living in long-term care or people inremote Indigenous communitieswill be among thoseprioritized, but officials said everyone will have access to a shot by next May.

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After seeing breakthrough COVID-19 cases in certain parts of B.C.'s population, Dr. Bonnie Henry says an extra dose can offer longer lasting protection.

The province isalso working on its plan for vaccinating children, pending Health Canada's approval of a vaccine for kids.

On Friday, B.C. announced 584new cases of COVID-19 and ninemore deaths. The province said 436people were in hospital, with 156in intensive care.

Health officials are still encouraging anyone who has not yet received a first or second dose to register to be vaccinated, and said that part of the immunization program will continue as they work to administer booster shots.

British Columbians aged 12 and over who have not yet been immunized can register in three ways:

• Online through theGet Vaccinated portal.
• By calling 1-833-838-2323. Translators are available in 140 languages.
• In person at anyService B.C. location.