KITCHENER -- Vaccination against COVID-19 will not be a requirement to participate in school sports in September, provincial officials say.
The Ministry of Education says inter-school games for indoor sports like basketball, hockey and wrestling will be permitted. Masks are not required but encouraged.
Vaccines will not be mandatory for any school activity to prevent barriers and stigmatization, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, said Wednesday.
"I got my vaccine because I thought it would be mandatory, but like just realizing it isn't mandatory, I kind of got upset. But I'm not scared, it's better to have the vaccines," said Grade 7 student Amini Mukenge, who is planning on trying out for his school's basketball team this fall.
Despite Ontario's top doctor asserting that vaccine requirements would create stigmatization, a Guelph public health official believes the difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated students will still be noticeable if there's a COVID-19 outbreak at a school.
"Those who are vaccinated, they will have less disruption than those not vaccinated," said Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum, associate medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.
While COVID-19 outbreak protocols are still missing from Ontario's back-to-school plan, it's expected to be released soon.
Dr. Tenebaum expects protocols to be the same for workplace outbreaks, where vaccinated staff are able to return to work once they test negative. Unvaccinated staff have to test negative twice seven days apart.
"For those who had their vaccine and their two doses, they will be able to stay in school and keep learning, as opposed to their school week disrupted," he said.
Vaccine rates for those 12 to 17 in the Guelph area and Waterloo Region are above the provincial average.
For both regions, 72 per cent of youth 12 to 18 have had their first dose, while 52 per cent are fully immunized.
