School staff in BC will need to supply their proof of vaccination to their employers.
An order was passed by Dr Bonnie Henry today (January 17th) requiring employers to request proof of vaccination from their staff and keep it on record.
The document said there is an immediate need for action in some schools in the province to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
No specific deadline is given yet, as the document said it will be directed by Dr Bonnie Henry.
The order also states that requests for reconsideration will not be taken.
First Vice President of the Prince George District Teachers Association Daryl Beauregard is hopeful that this will lead to some improvements for teachers, but notes that there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.
“It sounds like it’s an order to collect vaccination status on education staff, but doesn’t really say to what means that information will be applied to.”
“We’ve been actually asking them to have a mandate, but a provincial mandate, one that’s protective of our privacy and whatnot, but this is just a counting,” added Beauregard.
He said that they’ve been telling anyone who will listen that they’ve wanted improvements to how schools are dealing with the virus.
“At the very least we’ve been telling them for months that we didn’t feel safe at our schools, and I guess this is their way that they’re saying ok, we’re listening.”
“I truly hope that information will provide the data they need to then maybe follow up on some of our concerns, and hopefully put in some other protocols to at the end of the day make my members feel a lot safer going to work. We want the doors to remain open, and we want students to be taught, and at the end of the day we want our people to come home safe.”