P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner says when it comes to proof of vaccination, her office is trying to balance the protection of Islanders from COVID-19 with the protection of their private health information.

Denise Doiron says asking for proof comes down to legal authority and purpose.

She said under those guidelines, the Chief Public Health Office has the right to ask for proof of vaccination before letting visitors enter the province.

P.E.I. to tie border openings to vaccination rates

While P.E.I. has set tentative dates for opening to Atlantic Canada and the rest of the country, those dates could change depending on COVID-19 pandemic conditions, and on how many Islanders have been vaccinated.

To date, 1,643 direct-care health workers in Manitoba remain unvaccinated and are submitting to routine testing and 143 staff are on unpaid leave.

Covid Vaccinations, Toronto

Dr. Heather Morrison urged Islanders to book a vaccine appointment.

"It is certainly an infringement on your privacy and civil liberties but that's not necessarily unjustified. It is something that can be done when there is a justification for it," she said in an interview with 

Doiron said the Chief Public Health Office and the government are keeping privacy concerns at the forefront.

She said it is more complicated and perhaps a human rights issue when it comes to refusing certain services to people who are not vaccinated.

She said authorities should only keep personal information on vaccination for as long as necessary.

Pharmacies to contact AstraZeneca recipients about 2nd dose options

Island residents in the 18-29 age bracket who received AstraZeneca-Oxford from a P.E.I. pharmacy and are due for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be getting a call to discuss options, says Erin MacKenzie, executive director of the P.E.I. Pharmacists Association.

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, a vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at a hospital in Sofia, Bulgarian. South Africa on Sunday Feb. 7, 2021, has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn't effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country.  (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova, FILE)

Virus Outbreak Britain Vaccine

AstraZeneca-Oxford and Moderna are the only two vaccines currently available at P.E.I. pharmacies.

Swimming prohibited again for 2021 at Cabot Provincial Park

Dangerous currents in a channel created to get fishing boats out of Malpeque Harbour will keep beachgoers out of the water at P.E.I.’s Cabot Park this summer.

Two boats steaming past buoys near the beach at Malpeque. 

Two boats passing buoys in Malpeque Harbour. 

2 boats coming past buoys in Malpeque harbour

The channel created for fishing boats has made the beach dangerous for swimming.

P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner Denise Doiron says the Chief Public Health Office is keeping privacy concerns at the forefront.

CPHO within rights to ask for proof of vaccination, privacy commissioner says

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