Ontario hospitals keeping mandatory vaccination for staff, some for visitors

Vaccination requirements for restaurants, gyms and other public settings in Ontario may soon be lifting, but mandates for staff and even visitors in some hospitals will likely be in place much longer.

Premier Doug Ford declined last year to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for staff at hospitals - though only one hospital was opposed to it - but many put their own policies in place. The Canadian Press asked more than a dozen of those hospitals if they would be lifting their mandates as the province removes its vaccine certificate system next month, and all said no.

"We are not out of the pandemic yet," said Cambridge Memorial Hospital's president and CEO, Patrick Gaskin.

"Right now, it is a further layer of safety within the organization and assures our patients that everyone surrounding their care is vaccinated."

Ontario's vaccine certificate system is ending March 1, when proof of vaccination will no longer be required in public settings, though businesses may choose to keep it in place on their own. But those are very different places than institutions caring for vulnerable patients, Gaskin said.