Number of unvaccinated Manitoba health-care workers placed on unpaid leave grows to 158

The number of unvaccinated Manitoba health-care workers placed on unpaid leave for refusing to undergo routine COVID-19 testing continues to grow, and more than half are in the region with the lowest vaccination rate in the province.

As of Wednesday, 158 health-care workers have been put on leave, up from about 30 on Monday. These are publicly employed staff who weren't fully vaccinated by the Oct. 18 deadline and have rejected an accommodation of testing every 48 hours.

In total, 83 are from Southern Health, one of five such regions in Manitoba and the one with the lowest vaccine uptake. About 67.4 per cent of eligible Manitobans in the region are double-vaccinated, about 14 percentage points lower than the next closest region.

Another 27 are from Interlake-Eastern Health, 26 are from Prairie Mountain Health, 17 are from the Winnipeg Health Region and two are from Northern Health, said Shared Health, the organization that co-ordinates health care delivery in Manitoba.

Three employees at Shared Health have been placed on unpaid leave for the same reasons. Zero Cancer Care staff have been placed on leave, said Shared Health.

Of the roughly 42,000 health-care staff impacted by the rules, Shared Health said 30,705 have been verified as double-vaccinated.

Over 4,400 have disclosed their status and are awaiting verification, meanwhile 1,866 have been identified as unvaccinated and needing to submit to routine testing. Tallies will change as the verification process continues.

Some sectors have been bracing for staffing shortages in the lead-up to Monday when the rules came into effect.

Southern Health has been redeploying employees to work at some care homes in the region that are experiencing shortages, including Eastview Place in Altona and Salem Home in Winkler. 

Vaccination rates in the Winkler health district stand at 43.1 per cent, the second lowest in the province, and 25.1 per cent in the Stanley district, which surrounds the cities of Winkler and Morden and is right next to the Altona health district. Rates there are 53.5 per cent.

On Monday, CBC News spoke with eight care home workers from Eastview Place gathered in protest outside the facility with signs saying they felt their rights were being violated.

Shared Health is now asking workers placed on unpaid leave who wish to protest to "stay off health authority and health-care facility property."

"Everyone is asked to be mindful that these facilities are the homes of PCH [personal care home] residents who have entrusted us with their care," the organization said in a statement. "We must remain respectful so as to not disrupt their sense of security."

Shared Health said staff from the COVID-19 casual pool as well as a pool of internationally trained nurses have volunteered to help fill staffing holes in Southern Health. Designated family caregivers are also pitching in to help support and feed some residents.

"Contingency plans have been and continue to be in place and the staffing impacts continue to be very closely monitored," Shared Health said in a statement.