Au Chateau Getting Ready for Cold & Flu Season
XBB booster will in fact be mandatory for staff.
Masks are coming back.
Updated vaccine policy requiring XBB booster.
Surge in COVID cases among staff leading to more shortages.
COVID infected staff can return to work.
After wrapping up it’s fourth COVID-19 outbreak of 2023, Au Chateau has decided to reevaluate it’s mask and vaccination policies ahead of the respiratory virus season.
In a release posted on their social media page, the home announced that staff and volunteers would now be required to mask up at all times. These measures appear to be indefinite and will likely stay in place until Spring. The release also “STRONGLY RECOMMENDS” masks for all visitors.
Updated Vaccine Policy to be Adopted
The Board of Au Chateau will also be approving an updated Staff COVID-19 vaccination policy at their meeting on November 15th.
Last month I had shared an email between the board and management stating the new XBB booster would be required by “late fall”. This prompted a lot of fear among staff and forced the home to issue an urgent statement clarifying that they would not be “imposing the booster”.
But after being told by the Ministry that their policy was out of date*, the board has decided to go ahead and update it. In the memo presenting the new policy, Director Jacques Dupuis tells the board.
“I have attached both the revised and existing policy for your review. We recommend the attached revised policy… This change simply replaces one vaccine for another. “
*The home has the option to update it’s policy or end the policy altogether as many organizations have done.
In the agenda package, the old policy is presented which required all staff and volunteers to have a series of two original COVID shots. The policy was updated last year and required one booster.
In this week’s Agenda, Dupuis then presents the board with the new policy which will henceforth require all staff to have “Written proof of full vaccination (current recommended/approved vaccines/boosters) from the Ministry of Health.”
The revised policy states that any employee who does not have the recommended vaccines will be "off without pay and subject to potential discipline up to and including dismissal until full vaccination is reached."
The Ministry of Health’s latest recommendation (updated October 6th) is clear. ALL adults are recommended to get the XBB.1.5 booster regardless of past vaccination status.
When I requested to attend this week’s board meeting as a volunteer I was told that the policy was already being applied and that I needed the XBB booster shot to attend. The Board Chair followed up in another email telling me that this new rule/policy would be voted on at the meeting.
The latest revised policy is clearly going to require the XBB booster. The policy does not differentiate between those who didn’t take the 2021 shots. It simply requires ALL staff, volunteers and board meeting attendees to have the “recommended shots”. This is line with Board Chair, Daniel Gagne’s email on October 19th when he expressed his desire that employees receive the booster by “late fall”.
On Saturday I reached out to the Board of Management, the Director as well as the President of the union representing most Au Chateau employees for comment on this story. At the time of writing, I did not receive a response.
Ministry Allows LTC Homes to Have Independent Vaccination Policies But Discourages the Practice
The Ministry of Long-Term Care’s latest guidance on the subject allows homes to have independent vaccination policies and allows them to force staff to have the XBB booster. But they specify that:
Long-term care homes that have retained their proof-of-vaccination requirements are strongly recommended to revisit their policies. While continuing to promote the uptake of boosters, homes are encouraged to consider permitting entry to visitors and qualified staff, regardless of their vaccination status.
Staff Shortages Still a Problem But Au Chateau Can Bring Back COVID Positive Staff to Work
Although Au Chateau has a strict vaccination policy, the Director of Au Chateau stated in his latest monthly report that employee COVID cases were “alarming” and that the home was still facing “significant pressure on staffing”.
Although Dupuis has stressed that he does not want any of the unvaccinated staff to return to alleviate shortages, he did indicate in his report that they have been able to bend the rules to bring COVID infected staff back to work before the recommended quarantine period.
“Through sound case management, we are able to bring staff in earlier than the recommended 10 day period with proper masking and PPE control, should their symptoms subside.” - Jacques Dupuis
In his report to the Board of Management, he also included a summary of employee COVID-19 cases in the home since they started enforcing their staff vaccine policy in January 2022. Although In 2020 and 2021 there were no reports of employees contracting COVID, in the following 18 months, every single employee tested positive (including at least 25 employees who were infected twice). However since masks became optional earlier in 2023, infections have actually dropped significantly (while seeing a slight resurgence as of late).
Staff shortages are bound to get worse once the XBB is mandated on all employees. The uptake rate of the last booster shot in 2022 was only 20% in Canada and many believe that demand for this latest mRNA booster will be lower.
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Ridiculous how their vax is not working but they are still enforcing it 🤦♀️