A group of regional health officials in B.C. advised the University of British Columbia in mid-February that vaccine mandates, passports, and segregated lockdowns may do more harm than good—advice that appears to be at odds with provincial health officer Bonnie Henry’s stance.
In a letter to University of British Columbia (UBC) President Dr. Santo Ono on Feb. 16, health officials from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) urged the university to drop its plan to de-register students who did not declare their COVID-19 vaccination status or comply with mandatory testing.
Co-signed by VCH’s chief medical health officer Dr. Patricia Daly and three other medical officers, the letter argued that the Omicron variant has rendered two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines ineffective at preventing infection or transmission of the virus, though they remain effective at preventing severe illness.
“Therefore there is now no material difference in likelihood that a UBC student or staff member who is vaccinated or unvaccinated may be infected and potentially infectious to others,” the letter said.
The health officials also took aim at mandatory rapid testing for unvaccinated students and staff and any related academic or employment sanctions, saying those measures “are not useful” in preventing the spread of the virus on campus.
“Not only is Rapid Antigen Testing of asymptomatic people unreliable in identifying infection with the Omicron variant, but we have no evidence that those who have not complied with UBC policies have posed any public health risk to their fellow students, faculty or staff, even during circulation of other variants,” they wrote.
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