According to a release from School District 91 (SD91) from Dec. 16, a decision has yet to be made with regards to a vaccine mandate for all staff, but will come sometime in January. The mandate would require teachers, administrators, and support staff to be fully vaccinated if implemented.
The B.C. government issued a list of guidelines in October to assist the board of education with the process on whether to implement a vaccine mandate for employees. According to the release, SD91 is following the provincial process to ensure all information is considered to make an informed decision.
“The outcome of this process could have many ramifications for our employees, students and families, so taking the time to gather and analyze the information is essential,” said SD91 board chair Dave Christie.
A survey was conducted that included submissions from 526 of the 661 total employees across the school district, and it was determined that 85.6 per cent of those who took part reported themselves as fully vaccinated. “While the results on the employee survey show our staff has a higher vaccination rate than the local region, we are lower than many other parts of the province,” said Christie.
“We follow all public health guidance to help ensure our schools are safe and science shows vaccines are the most effective public health tool available to combat the pandemic. We encourage everyone eligible to get their vaccinations.”
To date, 22 of the 60 total school districts in B.C. have decided to not move forward with the vaccine mandate.
On Nov. 29, vaccines for kids ages five to 11 was authorized across B.C.. As of Dec. 16, Burns Lake town centre has 25 per cent of eligible kids in that age group with one dose. Burns Lake south has 9 per cent with one dose and Burns Lake north has 16 per cent with one dose.
READ MORE: Low scores for schools in Burns Lake
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Eddie Huband
Multimedia Reporter
eddie.huband@ldnews.net
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