Vancouver school board joins Surrey, Abbotsford in not mandating vaccination
B.C.’s second largest school district has decided against implementing a vaccine mandate for teachers and other staff.
Vancouver’s school board made the announcment two days after the province’s largest district – Surrey – announced it wouldn’t mandate immunization. And, like Surrey, Vancouver based its decision on advice from public health.
“Vancouver Coastal Health has told us that with youth and adults in Vancouver Coastal Health, the vaccination rate is around 90 per cent, and that schools can operate safely without 100 per cent vaccination rate(s),” said Vancouver School Board chair Carmen Cho.
Maintaining adequate staffing was another reason behind the decision not to mandate vaccination.
“We want children to be in school,” said Cho. “That’s where they need to be. So even if a very small number of staff were unvaccinated, there may be areas where we face challenges.”
Surrey mom Lyndsey Locke, whose daughter has underlying health conditions and isn’t old enough to be vaccinated, was hopeful that after her district decided against a mandate, Vancouver would step up and be first.
“It’s disappointing no one wants to be a leader and say, ‘This is what needs to be done for safety,’” Locke said. “I don’t think safety is being thought of as much as, ‘Oh, we may lose people.’”
Along with Surrey and Vancouver, Abbotsford and New Westminster’s school boards have also announced they won’t mandate vaccines. The remaining 56 districts in B.C. have yet to make a decision.
“Our advice has remained they need to look at all of the positive and negative impacts of a vaccinate mandate,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, who has left the decision on mandatory vaccination for school staff up to individual school boards.
“They have to understand the vaccination rate in their community, in their schools, in their employees.”
Vaccine advocates are concerned other school districts that are debating the issue will be swayed by the decision of B.C.’s two largest districts.
“If parents and caregivers spoke up and said, ‘This is what we want,’ then perhaps there is a chance,” said Safe Schools Coalition founder Kyenta Martins.
“But it feels like there’s not a lot of hope right now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.