Ontario pharmacists, doctors, report rise in harassment surrounding COVID-19 vaccines
Less than one week after Ontario began enforcing its vaccine certificate, pharmacists and family physicians say they’re receiving more harassment from anti-vaxxers.
“There’s no question we’ve come across a number of precarious scenarios where there’s been abuse or harassment and I think that’s a shared concern across the healthcare system,” Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association said.
At the Kingsway Health Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Manotick, Dr. Alykhan Abdulla says his staff have faced harassment for multiple reasons, including not prescribing Ivermectin, offering the COVID-19 vaccine, enforcing mask requirements, and not writing medical exemptions for patients who don’t qualify.
“People are fed up and so they need to get their anger, their frustration and their uncertainty, and they need to put it out on somebody and unfortunately it ends up being the healthcare professionals, the front office staff, the doctors,” Abdulla said.
According to Dr. Abdulla, it is taking a toll on staff.
“Every day, someone threatens to want to quit one of my clinics. They’re saying, ‘I can’t stand this anymore, handle this anymore, I need an opportunity to take some stress leave.’ That’s really hard.”
The phenomenon is happening across Ontario.
“We had one person come in to harass the people getting the shot; telling them they're all fools and harming themselves, all government puppets, among other swear words, to the staff who were administering (doses),” Mina Maseh, owner of the Victoria Commons Pharmacy in Scarborough, said.
Maseh says the majority of customer interactions have been positive, but the stress from the increased harassment recently forced one of his assistants to quit.
“As a pharmacist, it gets very stressful. We feel an unbelievable amount of burnout. I personally had a friend die from COVID-19 and about four long-term patients who we knew quite well. We know by vaccinating we're saving lives but also feel like at times we are being abused and have no way to fight back,” Maseh said.
CTV News spoke with more than 50 pharmacists in Ottawa for this story; roughly 20 per cent said they had recently been victim to some form of harassment at work.
Many declined to speak on the record fearing possible retaliation from customers.
One pharmacist working in Orléans told CTV News she had been offered $200 to falsify a vaccine receipt, while another working on Rideau Street said she had been screamed at by customers for offering the vaccine.
“Myself and some of my colleagues have also been approached to falsify vaccine records and that is very, very upsetting,” Kathleen Leach, a pharmacist and the owner of Sutherland’s Pharmacy in Hamilton said.
Leach says she’s had customers swear at her and her staff when administering the vaccine, and notes there’s been an uptick in people feeling forced to get the vaccine.
“Since the vaccine mandate has come in is a number of people who have come in to get vaccinated under protest,” she continued. “[The swearing] really upset the staff here for the entire day because it’s not our issue to make you want to do things that you don’t want to do.”
Abdulla says his clinic now has daily debriefing meetings, prepping the staff for issues they might encounter and discussing the feelings of burnout; meetings that until recently were only required weekly.
“We’re exhausted and we’re reaching our end of the rope. There’s going to be a price to pay, I don’t know when that price is. I hope it doesn’t happen during the pandemic, I hope we get the support we need,” he said.
According to the Ontario Pharmacists Association, these incidents have been increasing and there are concerns about what that means for health-care professionals.
“This is not unique in some respects; you always end up with the isolated cases of it, but we are seeing it escalate. I think we’re seeing the heated rhetoric become much more targeted towards businesses and healthcare providers and in some cases it can be violent,” Bates said.
Despite the challenges, Abdulla has a simple request for those seeking treatment or medical advice from those on the front line.
“Please be kind to one another because we know we’re all going through a hard time,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden-Trump rematch 6 months out from U.S. Election Day
Exactly six months before Election Day, Biden and Trump are locked in the first contest in 112 years with a current and former president competing for the White House. It's a race that is at once deeply entrenched and highly in flux as many voters are only just beginning to embrace the reality of the 2024 campaign.
Israel closes Gaza crossing after Hamas attack and vows military operation 'in the very near future'
Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday after Hamas militants attacked it, reportedly wounding several Israelis, while the defense minister warned of "a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza."
Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 60, with 101 people missing
Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 60 people and another 101 were reported missing, according to Sunday's toll from local authorities.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Should you save or splurge on makeup this summer?
If you're wondering whether you should splurge or save when it comes to buying skincare products and makeup this summer, we got some answers for you.