‘It’s time to close the gap’: Ontario LTC homes call for mandatory vaccines for healthcare workers

Ontario long-term care homes are asking the province to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for their staff and healthcare workers in all settings.

The Ontario Long-Term Care Association says making vaccines mandatory provincewide would protect residents and ensure facilities don’t lose their staff to other healthcare facilities.

“It’s time to close the gap: Ontario’s long-term care homes ask the Ontario government to mandate vaccines for all health care workers to protect our communities with growing concerns about the Delta variant and a fourth wave of the pandemic in the fall,” the OLTCA wrote on Twitter.

“OLTCA also asks relevant scientific partners to investigate and make recommendations on the need for long-term care residents, staff and essential caregivers to receive boosters shots of the COVID-19 vaccines to allow time to manage supply and create plans for administration.”

The province requires staff in long-term care homes to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status, and those who are unvaccinated for non-medical reasons have to undergo education about the importance of immunization.

But Premier Doug Ford has refused to mandate vaccines in any setting.

He has spoken in support of a Toronto hospital network’s policy that unvaccinated staff – and those who won’t disclose their vaccination status – have to take a COVID-19 test before coming to work.

The long-term care association’s call to make vaccines mandatory for health workers echoes recommendations from the Ontario Medical Association and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.

Ontario is reporting 321 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and two additional deaths. It’s the fifth straight day that daily cases have topped the 300 mark as the Delta variant spreads across the province.

There were 325 new cases reported on Monday.