Trucker vaccine mandate raises questions about risk posed by unvaccinated drivers

Unvaccinated truck drivers crossing over the border into Canada may pose a risk of transmitting COVID-19 to the general public, say some infectious diseases doctors and at least one public health expert.

But other specialists who spoke to CBC News said they were skeptical about whether the new federal vaccine mandate for truckers is needed — and questioned how much these drivers could contribute overall to the potential spread of the virus.

"A vaccine requirement for a select group of people I don't think is highly likely to make a big, huge difference in the short-to-medium term," said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist and associate professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

She noted that there's "extremely high transmission of COVID-19" on both sides of the border among unvaccinated people.

"Of course, [truck drivers] could be spreaders of COVID, but so could everyone else right now," Saxinger said. "So, it's kind of a relative thing."

As of January 15, a federal mandate requires that Canadian truckers must be vaccinated if they want to avoid quarantine and molecular tests. Unvaccinated American big-riggers will be turned back at the border

Trade associations on both sides of the border have said the  restriction would put additional strain on supply chains amid the latest COVID-19 surge and severe worker shortages.

About 10 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian truckers who cross the border may not be able to work those routes because they haven't been vaccinated, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

"Do I think an individual group of thousands of people being vaccinated or not will materially affect the shape of the pandemic in the next short while," Saxinger asked. "Not really."

Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ont., suggested the trucker vaccine mandate is similar to other government policies attempting to protect people from COVID-19 at the border. 

"There's kind of this idea that they're keeping COVID out," he said. "That doesn't make any sense. Omicron is not only here it's proven itself to be rapidly expanding all over the world.

"We've accepted the fact that this thing is just a beast when it comes to transmission."

Chakrabarti said while there is some reduction of transmission with those who are vaccinated, and "you must weigh the pros and cons."

"There might be a little tiny bit of benefit you get," from the new restriction on unvaccinated cross-border truck drivers, he said.  "But what you're losing is [thousands of] people helping bring in goods and making our supply chain work."