The Nova Scotia Teachers Union is claiming their members should be a high priority of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine program.
NSTU President Paul Wozney says there are multiple factors that make teachers extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. “Many students like those from P-3 are not required to wear masks, some classrooms are impossible to physical distance in and many schools have poor ventilation,” Wozney says.
Wozney also says many teachers are unequipped or don’t have the time needed to sanitize their classrooms or wash their hands as frequently as the Nova Scotia Health Authority recommends.
Despite those concerns which the NSTU has sent to the provincial government Wozney says they have yet to receive a response of any kind.
While the teachers union is pushing for their vaccinations they understand they don’t warrant being at the top of the list. “We have always been very clear in our position that frontline workers and the elderly need to come first,” says Wozney.
Although no Canadian jurisdictions have implemented a vaccination program that prioritizes teachers for vaccinations there is some precedent. Wozney says the idea is being explored in the United States, “Dr. Fauci has said on many occasions they need to make teachers a high priority not only because of the risk to teachers and students but also because of the vital role schools play in society.”
The Union only represents teachers but Wozney feels other school staff should also be a top priority as they are subject to many of the same issues facing teachers. “Throughout the pandemic, our rhetoric has always been about protecting all staff in schools and even though we don’t speak for them we feel other school staff should also be a priority.
Currently, the Nova Scotia COVID-19 vaccination program has no mention of teachers or considerations for their vaccine priority. As it stands teachers would be vaccinated on an individual basis depending on when their 5-year age block is called upon.
