Toronto joins calls for Ford government to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for eligible schoolchildren

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 24, 2021

Eager to safeguard a so far successful return of kids to class, Toronto is adding its voice to demands that the Ford government make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for eligible students.

On Monday, public health chief Dr. Eileen de Villa will ask Toronto’s public health board to endorse her call to get COVID-19 added to Ontario’s list of nine diseases, including mumps and diphtheria, against which students must be vaccinated.

Health board chair Coun. Joe Cressy said the move is vital to ensure the virus’s virulent Delta variant doesn’t get a bigger foothold and trigger mass outbreaks that would close schools and threaten renewed lockdown.

“This doesn’t even need to be legislated -- Ontario’s minister of health can sign off on this today,” Cressy told the Star, adding only the province, not the city or local school boards, has the power to add compulsory vaccinations for school kids.

“Given the urgency of both keeping schools open and as safe as possible, I see no cause for delay given that the science is clear on this one,” he said.

“This shouldn’t be a controversial subject -- we already require nine vaccines, this one should be added right away.”

While some health experts worry adding COVID-19 to the mandatory list could antagonize vaccine-hesitant parents and make them less open to persuasion, University of Toronto’s Dr. Anna Banerji said the jabs should be compulsory.

“We have vaccines for diphtheria, diseases that are very rare, so why not ensure vaccination against COVID-19 in the middle of the pandemic’s fourth wave when we’re trying to keep kids in school?” said Banerji, an infectious disease expert at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“Having these kids vaccinated could save some of their lives, or prevent a lot of kids from suffering, and prevent (COVID-19) from being spread to other people in the community.

“I support it -- I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Premier Doug Ford’s government has heard such calls from the umbrella group for Ontario school boards and, in a separate letter earlier this month, the Toronto District School Board, which educates about 247,000 students.

Making vaccination mandatory for students aged 12 and over, as the province has for teachers and school staff, would “further protect our students, staff and their families from the virus and help keep our schools open, which is of the utmost importance to the learning and well-being of our students,” the TDSB said.

While in the past provincial officials said they were considering the idea of mandatory student vaccinations, a spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott on Thursday suggested COVID-19 jabs aren’t being added to the compulsory list.

“Ontario has released the most far-ranging mandatory vaccination policies for high-risk settings in the country, which will provide an additional layer of protection in these already highly regulated settings to protect our most vulnerable Ontarians,” Alexandra Hilkene wrote in an email.

“The reporting and assessment components of the (Immunization of School Pupils Act) are already being accomplished through existing systems,” she said, and public health units can check student vaccination status in case of outbreak.

As of Wednesday, Toronto Public Health reported nine confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in schools but none serious enough to trigger a school closure. Since school resumed, one local student has been hospitalized with the virus.

New COVID-19 data for Toronto shows that two weeks after students returned to class, the city, like the rest of Ontario, has not yet suffered a feared spike in school and community spread during the pandemic’s fourth wave.

Experts point to Toronto being one of the most highly vaccinated big cities in the world, approaching 80 per cent of residents 12 and over fully vaccinated with a goal of 90 per cent, and continued mask wearing and other precautions.

As of last Saturday, the seven-day average for new daily infections had fallen for the second straight week, after rising since reopening in mid-July. The rate of new hospitalizations has remained steady.

“It’s reassuring that the numbers are not going crazy,” Banerji said.

“It could still happen, but the fact that kids have been back in school for a couple of weeks, and we’re not seeing a massive spike or even a steady incline is reassuring.”

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a Toronto infectious diseases expert, said the city can be proud of its “remarkable” vaccination progress but cannot be complacent.

“It’s wonderful to see that we’re not in dire straits right now but we can’t portray everything as hunky dory when it’s mid-September and there’s a long fall and winter ahead of us,” with more risky indoor human contact, he said.

“School are the largest sanctioned mass-gathering event in Ontario, happening five times a week for eight hours a day. We know mitigation efforts -- like masks, ventilation and vaccination people -- but are they good enough?

“It’s just too soon to say what the true impacts are going to be.”

Dr. Vinita Dubey, an associate medical officer at Toronto Public Health, said in an email that “vaccinations have been proven very effective at lowering risks of severe illness, hospitalization and death.

“This is why TPH supports and recommends provincial policies that encourage and increase COVID-19 vaccination among eligible school students.

“Vaccinations in the school setting will protect our school community and help build on our progress towards ending this pandemic.”