AHS lifts restriction on mandatory vaccination policy

Starting Thursday evening, Alberta Health Services will no longer require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or regular rapid testing of it workers.

AHS workers who have been put on leave, or are unvaccinated can begin to return to work starting March 10th, at 4:00 PM.

Health Minister Jason Copping said that the policy that was implemented to protect patients, can come to and end, "We are now in a different stage of our response and the overwhelming majority of our health-care workforce understands the importance of getting vaccinated. "

Copping said that approximately 97.7 per cent of all AHS workers are vaccinated. While 99.8 per cent of all Alberta physicians are currently vaccinated.

The move comes on the recommendation from Health Minister Jason Copping. Early last week Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie released a video via social media attacking the Kenney government over its double standard when asking the federal government to remove its federally mandated restrictions, "Provinces are asking the federal government to lift its mandates on truckers, and rightfully so. And yet in Alberta every governmental organization that I know of, has implemented a mandatory vaccination policy."

Alberta Health Services employees approximately 108,000 workers