These Quebec nurses are willing to sacrifice their careers to avoid getting COVID-19 shots
CBC
Some unvaccinated nurses in Quebec — who are among thousands facing suspension later this week — told CBC News they feel it's worth losing their jobs in order to respect their principles.
The Quebec government has set a deadline of Friday for all health-care workers in the province to be adequately vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who aren't will be suspended without pay, and on Monday the Quebec Order of Nurses said they will also see their licences suspended.
According to the order, 4,338 nurses aren't yet fully vaccinated. There are also more than 5,000 nurses whose vaccination status the order is still trying to verify. Thousands of other unvaccinated health-care workers are also facing suspension Friday. In total the province says 22,446 health care workers still aren't adequately vaccinated.
Some of the nurses who are not yet vaccinated question those numbers, as well as the claims of scientific experts about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. For others, the issue is one of having the freedom to exercise personal choice. And some of them are already making contingency plans.
"I don't feel that this [the vaccine] was the one and only solution. I think we went for it with a complete disregard about the freedom of choice, and then imposed it," Chantale Hébert, a nurse who works at a long-term care residence in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., told CBC in an interview Tuesday.
"Now we're getting sanctions just for believing in what we believe. I'm angry."
Hébert was the only nurse who spoke to CBC who agreed to have her name used. The other two requested their names not be used for fear of being targeted online, or of losing future job opportunities.
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