New data offers first glimpse of COVID-19 vaccination rates in Waterloo Region schools
Just over a week into the new school year, Waterloo Region’s school boards have released COVID-19 vaccination figures for their employees.
The summary covers all staff, trustees and volunteers who have disclosed their immunization status:
- 89.2 per cent of employees and trustees at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board have disclosed their vaccination status
- 80.9 per cent of employees say they are fully vaccinated and 0.2 per cent have a medical exemption for not getting the shot.
- 68 per cent of regular visitors, including volunteers and bus drivers, have submitted their status to the board. 78 per cent say they’ve received two doses while 0.8 percent have a medical exemption.
- 4,592 people are included in the WCDSB vaccination policy.
Vice president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) Waterloo Unit, Patrick Etmanski, believes there’s still room to improve.
“It’s a positive statement that so many are fully vaccinated but we’re still dealing with a case a day in our schools at this point,” Etmanski said. “As much as I have great hope in the vaccinations and the rate of vaccinations, we’re still dealing with cases. We still have a long way to go.”
OECTA stands behind vaccinations but called the idea of making it mandatory a controversial.
“It’s not a silver bullet. It’s not the only answer to this problem. But it seems to be the only answer that the government is willing to put anything behind,” said Etmanski.
Waterloo Region’s public school board reports:
- 69.7 per cent of staff and trustees have disclosed their vaccination status
- 95.4 per cent of staff and trustees who have disclosed their status attest to being fully vaccinated
- 66.5 per cent of all staff and trustees attest to being fully vaccinated and 0.01 per cent have a medical exception.
- 78.9 per cent or regular visitors and volunteers have disclosed their status. 63.9 per cent say they are fully immunized with proof of vaccination. 14.4 per cent say they received both doses, but did not provide documentation. 0.01 per cent have a medical exemption.
- 9,851 people fall under the public board’s vaccination policy.
About 30 per cent of staff have not yet disclosed their vaccination status.
“In a board of 10,000 employees approximately that’s a lot of employees who have not completed it,” said Jeff Pelich, vice president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario Waterlooo Region.
Education Director with the WRDSB, jeewan chanicka, said the board is working to keep workers and students safe.
“We’re still waiting on disclosure for some staff,” chanicka said. “We’re working in alignment with our union partners as well as public health to try and make sure that we can follow the best implementation plan to be able to make sure that the environment is as safe as possible for all students.”
As of Wednesday, all Ontario school boards must publicly post vaccine status data for staff and third party service providers on a monthly basis.
Both the public and Catholic boards said those who don’t disclose their status will be subjected to rapid testing twice a week, as per provincial government’s rules.
“Individual who have not filled out the survey one way or the other would be treated as an individual who is unvaccinated and therefore be held to the requirement for testing," said, Loretta Notten, the Director of Education with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.
Officials with both boards said they are looking for more direction from the province on mandatory vaccinations.
“We’re following the guidance of the ministry on this. You can imagine there’s a lot of pieces that are connected to it,” said chanicka.
The details on what that will look like and any possible penalties are still up in the air.
“All of those things are still unanswered so that’s created a climate of fear and uncertainty, which is not really helpful at the beginning of the year, said Pelich.
Both school boards plan to post weekly updates on the vaccination rates of staff and trustees online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.