Some B.C. teachers get invitations for booster shots, others still waiting
One week before in-person learning is set to resume for British Columbia grade school students, the majority of teachers and support staff haven’t received their COVID-19 booster shots.
The province has begun sending booster invitations to 800,000 people who are at least six months past their second vaccine dose. Most teachers and school support staff meet that criteria, because they were given priority access to their first doses. Some have been invited to book, but others, like Annie Ohana, are still waiting.
“Nothing, I’ve received nothing,” said Ohana, who’s a department head at a secondary school in Surrey.
“So now people who haven’t been invited, including myself, are continuously checking, because people who are younger than us with shorter time periods are getting their invites.”
Secondary school teacher Dave McCristall got his invitation to book on Saturday. But his wife, who is also a teacher more than six months past her second vaccine, has not. While he expects it’s coming soon, he wonders when she’ll be able to get an appointment.
“My concern for teachers is a lot of us are at around six and a half, seven months and there isn’t going to be a ton of availability based on what I saw when I looked in the portal,” said McCristall.
While there are many vaccine appointments available in Metro Vancouver, most are for mid-to-late January.
Teachers would like to see vaccine in pop-up clinics inside schools this week for educators and support staff, before students return to the classroom on Jan. 10.
“Using the schools during this first week where classes are, for the most part, not in session would be a great way to us for us to catch the population up,” Ohana said.
Burnaby elementary school teacher Jennifer Heighton agrees.
“I think that would be phenomenal if they could do that, because you know it does take two weeks for the vaccine to take effect. And so the sooner it’s done, the better. This would be really efficient, and a good way of making sure teachers got booster doses quickly,” said Heighton, who would feel much more comfortable returning to the classroom after getting a third dose.
If most teachers and support staff return to the classroom without having been boosted, B.C. Teachers Federation president Teri Mooring believes there will be many school closures due to staff shortages caused by illness.
“You know, we have heard (provincial health officer) Dr. (Bonnie) Henry say schools are reflective of the communities that they’re in. If that’s the case, with the high numbers we are seeing, we are quite concerned we are going to see significant school closures in January,” said Mooring.
If the government wants to avoid school closures, teachers say giving them priority access to vaccines is key.
“It’s important that schools are open, and one way to do that is for teachers and support staff to get their booster as soon as possible,” said McCristall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.