Delta introducing COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public school employees

The Board of Education in Delta, B.C., has taken a step that school boards in Surrey and Vancouver declined to take last fall, implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its teachers and staff.

The board voted Tuesday to direct the school district to "create, implement and amend as necessary a proof of vaccination regarding COVID-19 operations procedure."

“We continue to hear from public health of the need for unvaccinated people to get immunized as soon as possible as vaccines reduce people’s risk of severe illness,” said board chair Val Windsor in a news release Wednesday.

“We feel very strongly about protecting our students and staff," she added. "We believe anything we can do to reduce their risk of getting COVID, lessen the severity of their symptoms or reduce their time away from work or school is worth doing."

Windsor said the decision - which was made in an in-camera meeting - followed a review of "many factors involved in this extremely sensitive and highly complex issue."

Beginning Jan. 17, district staff will have six weeks to disclose their vaccination status. Those who are unvaccinated will be required to undergo "regular rapid testing" in order to continue working, or take an unpaid leave of absence.

The six-week timeframe is intended to allow staff members who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated to get their shots.

Students are not required to show proof of vaccination to attend school.

Vaccine mandates have been implemented by various employers and industries across B.C. over the last six months.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry introduced a mandate for health-care workers, but declined to do so for the education sector, insisting that it was up to individual school boards to make the decision on whether to require vaccination for their employees.

In early November, the province's two largest school districts - Surrey and Vancouver - opted not to implement such a requirement, and several other districts followed suit. 

Delta's plan calls for the district to ensure it "complies with its obligation to accommodate individuals who are legally entitled to accommodation for medical reasons or under the Human Rights Code of British Columbia or Canadian Charter of Rights of Freedoms."

"The board of trustees believes introducing a proof of vaccination requirement is the right decision for public schools in Delta," Windsor said in the release.

"We strongly urge any employees who have not yet been fully vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.”