Health order forcing school staff to declare vaccine status aimed at districts in Interior Health

The new provincial health order that can force school staff to declare their vaccination status was brought in mainly to help schools in the Interior Health region.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry put the new order in place yesterday and explained the reasoning behind it at a news briefing today, Jan. 18.

“This was to particularly support Interior Health where there are a number of school districts that were in negotiations or in discussions with their staff and the medical health officer,” Dr. Henry said. “Our understanding was that, if we had a provincial standard – so an enabling order from me – that would allow it to be done in a consistent way with each medical health officer as needed, in partnership with the school district.”

READ MORE: COVID-19 restrictions extended, teachers must disclose vaccination status

She stressed that it’s up to employers to impose vaccine mandates on employees, as the provincial government, many municipalities and businesses have already done. The way the B.C. school system works, each of the province’s 60 school boards are the employers.

The Central Okanagan school district took the lead in the Interior Health region in December by ordering its staff to declare their vaccine status by Jan. 14. That order was grieved by the teachers’ union.

“It really enables the school district to make it very clear that it is a legal mandate that they are able to ask all staff in that school district to report their vaccination status,” Dr. Henry said. “That is a really important step in determining whether they need to have a vaccine mandate in that district or not.”

Dr. Henry’s order includes language saying that staff members who don’t disclose their vaccination status will be considered unvaccinated.

READ MORE: Central Okanagan schools ahead of provincial curve on staff vaccination status

Interior Health confirmed this afternoon, in an email, that a directive has been issued requiring the Central Okanagan school district to report the vaccination status of its staff by Jan. 28.

School district superintendent Kevin Kaardal would not tell iNFOnews.ca how many staff members had responded to the demand for disclosure of their vaccination status, saying that information would go to the board, at an in camera meeting, on Jan. 26. A motion on whether to impose a vaccine mandate was expected to follow at a public meeting that evening.

That may change now that the deadline for compliance has been extended.

At this point, there is no information on whether other school boards in the region will ask to be given a similar directive. It appears Interior Health will only issue a directive if requested by a school board.

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