Vaccine mandates may exacerbate school staff shortages, cautions BCSTA president
Two school boards in British Columbia decided to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for staff this week, three months after the release of a road map guiding districts through the procedure.
Both Delta and Revelstoke’s school boards announced their decisions in the same week that K-12 students made a full return to class. When the Omicron variant began rapidly spreading through B.C. in December, the province delayed the start of the spring term by one week, hoping it would give schools time to double down on safety procedures.
Before the holiday break, roughly half of the province’s 60 school districts had yet to decide whether or not they’d require staff to disclose their vaccination status, according to Stephanie Higginson, president of the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA).
“This is a really complicated issue, particularly if it may lead to staffing shortages in an already challenging time,” said Higginson, speaking to CTV News on the same day that two schools declared functional closures over labour shortages.
Armstrong Elementary School plans to reopen on Tuesday, while Heritage Park Middle School in Mission will stay closed until Thursday. In total, four schools announced functional closures this week, including Hazelton Secondary School and a Christian private school in Surrey.
“I think if this helps mitigate those interruptions, you might see more people implementing them,” says Higginson. “Districts are going to be looking at this from the perspective of ‘How do we best serve the students and staff in a safe way?’ – while also making sure that they mitigate any interruptions to face to face learning.”
The latest provincial data shows that unvaccinated people accounted for 21.5 percent of COVID-19 cases in B.C. between Jan. 6 and 12, and 34.2 per cent of hospitalizations, despite making up less than 15 per cent of the population. In addition, the province reports 94 percent of B.C. teachers are fully vaccinated.
“The introduction of Omicron has changed things just a little bit,” says Higginson, referring to new federal guidelines that suggest people self-isolate for 5 days upon learning they are COVID-19 positive— slashing the original timeline in half.
“BCSTA has always been very supportive of everyone being vaccinated, while trusting the district is making the best decisions possible with the information they have in conjunction with their medical health officers," said. Higginson. “That’s what's really navigated us through this pandemic very well in B.C. so far.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.