Hamilton’s two top school board executives are touting a plan requiring disclosure of COVID-19 vaccination status and ongoing rapid testing of staff as an important measure to protect youth under 12 who are not vaccinated returning to in-person learning this September.
The policy comes as part of the province’s announcement last week from the Ministry of Education, which intends to implement a vaccination status disclosure policy for publicly funded school board employees come the fall.
Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) chair Dawn Danko says the step is one of many key “layers of protection” that will reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading in city schools amid the fourth wave of the pandemic.
“I think that is a layer that will be very important to help avoid COVID cases coming into the schools,” Danko said during a public health update on Monday.
Chair Pat Daly said the Catholic board is expected to discuss the possibility of following in the footsteps of the City of Hamilton and implement a vaccination verification program for staff.
Daly said he didn’t have any doubts that a mandatory vaccination policy would be supported by trustees and staff since the provincial Catholic trustee association has supported all COVID-19 safety measures recommended by the province and local public health authorities since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Clearly, we would be in support of mandatory vaccinations if that was the decision,” said Daly.
Danko said she would support such an action and that HWDSB members would be discussing their options in the near future. She says union partners at all levels have revealed they are supporting mandatory vaccinations in staff.
“We need to remember when people are vaccinated in schools it creates a safe environment for students but also for staff,” said Danko.
“I’m interested to see if there will be further direction from the ministry as we move forward.”
Hamilton’s medical officer of health says public health is supportive of mandatory vaccination policies, particularly ones similar to what will be implemented by McMaster University and Mohawk College in the fall.
“Not only in these cases, which are education, which is important as kids get back to school, but in all organizations across the city,” said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson.
“Very much encouraging people to look at these policies and how they could support vaccination in our community.”
Beyond vaccinations and testing, both chairs say their respective boards will implement similar back-to-school plans in the 2020-21 year, which involves both elementary and secondary students attending in person five days per week, with the latter having no more than two courses at a time for the fall semester.
The boards have received approval from the province to use reserve funds in reducing elementary school classes sizes and grades four through eight. Up to $6 million for the HWDSB and $2.5 million for the Catholic board.
The boards also obtained funds to purchase HEPA air conditioning units for older classrooms that require one.
Daily safety plans include the submission of student screenings and an in-person masking policy during classes and on transportation for students in kindergarten through to Grade 12.
Potential closure plans will also be in place should students have to pivot to remote learning if the COVID-19 situation worsens.
As of the beginning of August, some 2,500 students had opted to receive their learning remotely. About 1,800 HWDSB elementary pupils have opted for remote learning – with fewer than 400 of those coming from secondary schools.
Only about 300 Catholic elementary students are expected to learn remotely.
Both school boards say they will have updated numbers by the end of this week.
Richardson says public health has no forecast for the potential number of COVID-19 cases it expects to see in the fall but says “mobility” could be the driving force through infections with increased person-to-person contact during the school year.
She hopes actions needed to stem further spread among students, staff and families will be limited.
“Maybe it’s a transient dismissal of a cohort, as we’ve done before, or a short-term closure of a particular school but we’re really hoping that anything more widespread isn’t necessary,” said Richardson.
The scientific director for Ontario’s COVID-19 science table told Global News he sees the province having to implement some restrictions during the fourth wave due to a significant proportion of the population still being not fully vaccinated going into the fall.
However, Dr. Peter Juni suggests the success of in-person learning in schools will be contingent on the community’s vaccination rate increasing and some sort of vaccination program for children under 12.
“So we will need to find a new balance and there will be a moment after kids below the age of 12 will have been vaccinated and it’s mainly hospital occupancy and ICU occupancy with COVID-19 patients that will determine how much additional restrictions are needed,” said Juni.
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