Wide gap between most and least vaccinated Ontario schools could threaten reopening plans, experts say
Vaccination rates among teenagers in some regions of Ontario aren't keeping pace with the provincial average, provincial figures say — a development that could undermine the province’s new back-to-school plan.
And one thing that could give the plan a shot in the arm would be putting vaccination clinics directly in schools, and giving young people the opportunity to consent to the vaccines for themselves, said Dr. Colin Furness, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto.
“No question that in affluent areas vaccination rates will be higher. And there are certain higher risk areas as well. We’ve seen it,” Furness told CTV News Toronto, adding that those risks will be more acute in schools with less ventilation.
“One thing I’d like to see is vaccination clinics at school. Kids can consent for themselves when they have good old fashioned education about what a vaccine is and what it does and that would be enormously helpful,” he said.
Furness was responding to the Ontario government’s back-to-school plan, that was released Monday.
It promised that life students knew before COVID-19 can largely return, saying students can attend assembly, use the libraries, and gather in the cafeteria. Extracurricular activities, sports and clubs will be back.
All of this will happen with limited restrictions, requirements to physically distance, and mandatory masks from grades one through 12.
“Our goal is to have a safe reopening of our schools that lasts the entire academic year,” said Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore.
But there’s little in the plan that talks about what could go wrong: no rules for unvaccinated students, nothing about how to manage outbreaks, and no picture of how widespread isolation would have to be given an exposure at school.
"I'm looking forward to my kids to have an in-person classroom," said Solomon Hagos as he picked his daughter Eliana up from daycare. "I'm a little bit worried but I am optimistic, even though the vaccination rates are a bit low."
Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel Region’s medical officer of health, said that vaccination rates are much higher than when he closed schools in his region earlier this year, and that will contribute to a safer return to school.
“The vaccine is so important as a foundation to ensure the rest of these measures are able to enhance and ensure in-person learning continues through this school year,” Dr. Loh said.
But how much students are vaccinated varies widely, from as low as 25 per cent of children aged 12-15 in Aymler, Ont. to a high of 100 per cent in downtown Ottawa, figures from ICES show.
Toronto has a nearly 40 per cent gulf between its highest-vaccinated area — Lawrence Park, at 86 per cent — and its lowest — Lawrence Heights, at 47 per cent, the ICES figures show. The ICES figures are current to July 25.
Public health officials say the pandemic is now almost overwhelmingly affecting the unvaccinated, with the Delta variant sweeping through parts of the United States and Europe.
Children under 12 aren’t eligible for the vaccine, and they will be grouped together under this plan.
“It’s a plan that attempts to put things back the way they were before COVID-19 but I don’t think we’re ready for that,” said Karen Littlewood, the president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
Some experts were more optimistic, saying that vaccinating parents and teachers can help protect the unvaccinated children, lowering the likelihood a coming fourth wave will swamp the schools.
“Those who are unvaccinated certainly are protected when everyone around them is vaccinated. That means the teachers, but far more important are the parents and family,” said Dr. Barry Pakes.
“So if you want your kid to be back in school full time, the best way to protect them from being sent home from school or from getting COVID is to you yourself as a family to be vaccinated,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.