Home/Health/Managing your health/Immunizations/Immune status reporting for health care workers in B.C.

More topics

Immune status reporting for health care workers in B.C.

Last updated on August 2, 2024

A new immune status reporting requirement will make sure health care workers in B.C. continue to help keep people safe.

On this page

Required immune status reporting for health care workers

A provincial requirement will support improved reporting of immune status for health care workers in B.C.

Immune status refers to immunity through previous vaccination or infection.

Improved reporting of health care workers’ immune status:

  • Protects patients, clients and residents in health care settings
  • Protects people who cannot be immunized
  • Makes our response to exposure and outbreaks faster and more effective
  • Helps us prepare for future pandemics

The end of the COVID-19 emergency

With the Provincial Health Officer’s declaration to the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been lifted from health-authority-operated and contracted facilities, programs and services.

Moving forward, health care workers working in public health care facilities will be required to report their immunization for COVID-19 and influenza and their immune status for other critical vaccine preventable diseases.

Through the updated reporting process, health authority employers will be able to regularly connect with health care workers, including contractors employed by health authorities, to ensure their immune status is up to date. As part of this, the province will offer them the vaccinations they need to ensure their health and the health of their patients.

Who the requirement is for

Clinical and non-clinical health care staff employed or contacted by B.C.’s health authorities, including Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and Providence Health Care (PHC), are under the immune status requirement. This includes union and non-union employees, such as:

  • Physicians
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Registered nurses
  • Allied health professionals
  • Medical residents
  • Student nurses and other students training in health authority settings
  • Administrative staff
  • Support staff
  • Volunteers
  • Contract workers in health-authority-operated facilities

First Nations Health Authority staff are exempt.

Critical vaccine preventable diseases

The collection of immune status information will ensure reporting is consistent throughout B.C. and follows the BC Centre for Disease Control Immunization Manual's recommendations for health care workers in Section 2 (Select populations).

These vaccine preventable diseases include:

  • COVID-19
  • Influenza
  • Measles, mumps, rubella
  • Hepatitis B
  • Whooping cough (Pertussis)
  • Chickenpox (Varicella)

Timeline for the immune status reporting requirement

This new requirement takes effect on July 26, 2024 and will be phased in. Health authorities will begin by collecting the records of newly hired employees, followed by the records of existing health care workers.

Immune status reporting for health care workers

Expand All | Collapse All
 

I am a current employee or contractor

If you are currently employed by a health authority, you will be asked to ensure your immune status record is up to date. In most cases, your immune status is already recorded, and no action is required. 

For those whose information is not up to date, employers will be reaching out to update any missing or incomplete records. Existing employees who are not immune will be offered opportunities for any missed vaccines.

 

I am a new hire

You will be asked for records of immune status during onboarding, and offered opportunities for vaccinations if any are missing.

 

Protecting my privacy and personal health information  

The Ministry of Health and health authorities have security measures to protect systems against attacks and are committed to strong privacy and security control. Information collected on immune status has been part of and will remain part of an employee’s record. It will continue to be protected, as it has been in the past.

Immune status reporting for employers

With this new reporting requirement, B.C. health authorities, including PHSA and PHC, will be reviewing their records for current employees. This will help employers:

  • See what immune status records are missing for current employees
  • Discover what immunizations their employees need and offer them
  • Work with their occupational health and safety teams and employees to make sure immune status records are up to date

Questions

If you have questions about immune status requirements for health care workers in B.C., contact: CommunicableDisease@gov.bc.ca.