VICTORIA Health Minister Terry Lake says one health care worker was fired during the flu season for failing to follow new protocols that require staff to either get vaccinated or wear a mask when treating patients.

Lake said the worker from B.C.s interior went through a progressive disciplinary approach and was given opportunity to comply with the requirement to either be vaccinated or wear a mask, and through that disciplinary approach finally was terminated.

He would not reveal any details about the firing, or why the employee refused to comply, saying that it is a personnel matter.

The employee is believed to be the first person fired since the province brought in the controversial policy requiring vaccinations or masks for all health care professionals last year.

B.C. is the only province to implement such a flu-prevention policy, and received a backlash from various health care unions that threatened legal action because they believed the move violated workers rights and wasnt justified by scientific evidence.

The government argued it would help protect vulnerable patients against contracting influenza from caregivers.

Some people have concerns about vaccines, said Lake. Our concern is the patient, obviously. We want to keep the health care workers healthy, but our primary concern is the patient. And so by being immunized we are protecting the patient but also by wearing a mask we feel that is efficacious in protecting the patient as well.

The government said Wednesday that 80 per cent of health care workers ultimately did get vaccinated, which was a 10 per cent increase from the previous flu season.

A record 1.4 million British Columbians were vaccinated since November 2013 and the years vaccine was 74 per cent effective in protecting against the most predominant H1N1 strain this season, the Health Ministry said.

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B.C. health care worker fired for refusing vaccination, mask