School district says school staff should be vaccine priority

School District 57 is calling on provincial health authorities to make vaccinating school staff against COVID-19 a priority.

On Tuesday, the district's board of education approved a letter to be sent to the Health Minister Adrian Dix and Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside, urging them to prioritize all school-based staff for vaccination.

"Given that our teachers and educators are frontline workers... they do need the support of the immunization," trustee Sharel Warrington said. "COVID is not going away. COVID will be with us in the fall."

The B.C. School Trustees Association has sent a similar letter to the ministers, trustee Ron Polillo said.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "They should be vaccinated at the same rate as healthcare workers and first responders."

Since the beginning of the month, Northern Health has reported COVID-19 exposures at five schools in the district (Valemount Elementary, College Heights Secondary, Prince George Secondary, Pineview Elementary and Hart Highlands Elementary).

Trustee Bob Thompson said school staff are facing "a game of Russian roulette" to see if they are exposed to COVID-19. And some in-school staff members are part of the older demographics that are more likely to suffer serious symptoms from the disease.

Prince George District Teacher's Association president Joanne Hapke thanked the board for writing the letter.

"I think it is important that we be recognized as the frontline workers we are," Hapke said.

Also on Tuesday, the head of B.C. Teachers' Federation said that as of March 12, 88 elementary school teachers and 26 secondary school teachers in the province had filed COVID-19 claims to WorkSafeBC.

BCTF president Teri Mooring called on the province to require all students to wear masks in classrooms.

However, a statement released by the Ministry of Education said low transmission rates in schools show the current safety plans are working.

"We have been actively working with WorkSafeBC and public health experts to help keep students and staff safe at school," the ministry said in a statement. "While we know masks provide some protection for both the person wearing them and those around them, we also need to remember that they are only one of the layers of protection to help prevent the spread of COVID-19."

— With files from The Canadian Press