BC Doctor Loses Appeal to Retain Hospital Privileges Lost Over Refusal of COVID-19 Vaccine

The appeal board says although Dr. Theresa Szezepaniak has the right to refuse the shot, it doesn’t mean she is ‘immune from the consequences of her decision.’

A health worker draws out a Moderna vaccine dose during a drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 2, 2022. Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press

A doctor in B.C. has lost an appeal that would have allowed her to keep her hospital privileges despite not taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

A Nov. 20 Hospital Appeal decision said that the hospital privileges of Dr. Theresa Szezepaniak were suspended as of Aug. 19, 2022, as she was not able to work in a hospital setting due to public health orders (PHO).