EDITORIAL – Mandatory vaccinations will keep more nurses on the job
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
THE RESIGNATION of Christine Sorenson as president of the B.C. Nurses Union might have gotten a lot more attention except for the fact it was quietly announced with a two-sentence news release in the middle of Monday’s federal election.
The headline on the news release said simply, ‘Important update.’ It thanked her for her service and said she was resigning “for personal reasons and to pursue other opportunities.”
Not much of a send-off for someone who has put in so many years working on behalf of the union and its members. The announcement didn’t even rate top billing for the day on the BCNU website. That honour went to a statement — quoting union vice president Aman Grewal — about a new TV ad on the province’s worsening nurse shortage.
News media, though, headlined their stories with the likes of ‘BC Nurses Union president resigns abruptly amid mandatory vaccine debate.’
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
Hard to believe that they would even NEED to mandate vaccinations for nurses and health care professionals. How can a person working in a hospital not be vaccinated at this point?? Science can create a vaccine but it can’t fix stupid.