DORVAL -- A Quebec school board is demanding the province prioritize teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Unless they have health issues, teachers are expected to be vaccinated along with the general adult population, after residents of care homes, health workers, isolated community members, and other groups.
On Monday, the Lester B. Pearson School Board in the Montreal area agreed unanimously to adopt a resolution demanding the changes in the vaccine schedule.
Quebec’s vaccination rollout prioritizes “older people and people with certain chronic diseases who are at increased risk of developing complications and dying from COVID‑19,” as outlined on the province’s website.
“Like many other essential workers,” wrote the board’s director general Cindy Finn in a news release, “our teachers, support staff, caretakers, professionals and administrators have had to adapt their practices so that student learning can continue in the safest environment possible.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of schools are dealing with active outbreaks across the province, including about 30 associated with the Lester B. Pearson board.
Lester B.'s council of commissioners said if teachers are prioritized, students and their families will also get added protection.
Earlier in January, a study done in part by Universite de Montreal and George Washington University found that students attending in-person classes were contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in surrounding communities.
The province’s vaccination plan is based on the advice of the Committee on Immunization of Quebec (CIQ) and is subject to change should more vaccines become available.
In recent days, Quebec has delivered doses to several members of the highest priority groups, including residents in public and private seniors’ homes, crisis workers and people in isolated communities.
But the province has already had to cut back on its inoculation schedule, after vaccine manufacturer Pfizer delayed deliveries while expanding its European factory.
