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Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has dropped the requirement for private regulated health professionals to be vaccinated.
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This includes dentists, opticians and naturopathic doctors.
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“Given the high rates of vaccination in these professions, and the current state of the pandemic, the PHO has decided to not require private, regulated health professionals to be vaccinated at this time,” Henry said in a statement released on Thursday.
This came as the World Health Organization declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight.
In March, 2022, Henry ordered all health professionals in private and public settings to declare their vaccination status to their regulatory body in order to be permitted to work.
Henry said people working for health authorities and agencies funded by health authorities and long-term care and assisted-living facilities will still need to be fully vaccinated, meaning at least two shots.
On Thursday, the B.C. Ministry of Health reported 16 COVID-19 deaths in the week ending Sept. 10. This includes people who died from other causes but had COVID-19 at the time.
On Sept. 10 there were 314 people in hospital who had COVID-19 (though may not have been in hospital due to COVID-19) and 23 in intensive care.
A total of 4216 people have died with COVID-19 in B.C. since March of 2020 — which is fewer than the number of people who have died from a drug overdose, the province’s other public health crisis.
