The Canadian province of Ontario is currently impressively demonstrating how pointless compulsory vaccination is: While the province of Quebec has already withdrawn the mandatory vaccinations imposed on medical staff, Ontario is stubbornly sticking to it despite a massive shortage of nursing staff – but the effect of this supposedly important measure is close to zero . It should only make it more difficult to care for the residents of the home.
The staff in the nursing homes is not only vaccinated twice, but the majority already boosted. Ontario has imposed a booster requirement that requires employees to show their booster shots by January 28 to continue working. Of course, for many nursing staff, the measure is already full after the double vaccination, so that some of the staff have so far refused the booster and there are considerable doubts as to whether the January 28 deadline is a good idea given the existing shortage of staff. However: According to media reports, on January 12, 64 percent of all employees in the nursing homes had already been vaccinated three times.
Among the residents of the home, however, one has gone one step further: Here one has long since started administer four vaccinations.
However, all this does not change the fact that in the course of the Omicron wave, the number of infections in homes has skyrocketed to an unprecedented extent. More than half of Ontario’s 626 nursing homes are experiencing outbreaks. Around 4,100 employees are currently considered to be active Covid cases – there are 2,600 residents. There is no talk of serious illnesses, but staff who test positive end up in quarantine and are therefore unable to work.
“Once again we are hearing from residents, their families and frontline workers of massive staff shortages and residents being locked in their rooms for days or even weeks,” warned Andrea Horwath, leader of Ontario’s New Democratic Party, in a letter to Premier Doug Ford.
The care of the residents is therefore not only at risk, but can no longer be guaranteed. Out of desperation, they are already turning to the families of the residents of the home to hire them as helpers. Furthermore, employees of local medical practices should help with even more vaccinations and restaurants should be asked about support for the kitchen staff in the homes.
Obviously, one does not want to fall back on unvaccinated (and soon unboosted) nursing staff – undoubtedly to the chagrin of the nursing home residents. But their well-being is apparently hardly a priority for politicians around the world anyway.
