Ontario reviewing vaccine mandate for LTC workers

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TORONTO — Ontario’s long-term care minister says a mandate requiring workers in the sector to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is under review.

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Paul Calandra says the rule is being looked at as the government reviews all of its sector-specific vaccination policies and other pandemic measures.

Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s top doctor, has said that he wants to end workplace COVID-19 vaccination policies by March 1, when proof-of-vaccination rules in indoor spaces are also set to end.

Calandra didn’t say whether he was aiming for that date to end the mandate.

Workers in long-term care homes are currently required to have two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to stay on the job and they have until March 14 to get third shots.

It’s the only sector in which Ontario has made COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for employment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2022.