With many Ontarians advocating for teachers to be moved up in the vaccine queue, one health region is taking action and immunizing all education staff over the April spring break.
The District School Board of Niagara announced Tuesday that about 4,000 of its in-school staff would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine from April 10 to 18, which means they can get their first dose before classes resume after the break.
“The Niagara Region and Niagara Health have gone above and beyond to ensure that staff who work in schools are vaccinated, and we are incredibly thankful. By making this decision, they have increased the safety of our students, staff, and their families for the rest of the year,” Sue Barnett, DSBN chair of the board, said in a news release.
Posted: Apr 07, 2021 2:12 PM ET | Last Updated: April 7
Christine Somerville, 52, is a custodian for District School Board of Niagara. Staff at Niagara schools can get vaccinated for COVID-19 starting Saturday.(Supplied by Christine Somerville)
Christine Somerville couldn t help but celebrate when she found out she and other Niagara school employees will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccinate as soon as Saturday. I feel fabulous, the 52-year-old custodian said on Tuesday. I was doing a happy dance around my home today.
Niagara s COVID-19 vaccination task force said Tuesday that it will give shots to elementary and secondary school workers. The team cited risk factors that include the disruption of in-person learning, and the need to continue programs such as school meals to mental health supports.
TORONTO Thousands of education workers in Niagara Region will be able to roll up their sleeves and receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting this weekend. The widespread vaccination of education workers wasn’t supposed to begin until the province began prioritizing frontline workers in mid-May but the District School Board of Niagara issued a news release on Tuesday afternoon confirming that as many as 4,000 eligible staff members will have the option of being vaccinated between April 10 and 18, which coincides with the delayed March break. The Niagara Catholic District School Board then separately confirmed to CP24 that its members will also be included in the rollout.
Winnipeg Free Press By: Holly McKenzie-Sutter and Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press Posted:
Last Modified: 3:31 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2021
Toronto is the latest COVID-19 hot spot in Ontario to order schools closed while the provincial government maintains that classrooms are safe for in-person learning.
Students cross the street at Tomken Road Middle School during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mississauga, Ont., Thursday, April 1, 2021. Schools in Peel Region are closed for in-person learning starting today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Toronto is the latest COVID-19 hot spot in Ontario to order schools closed while the provincial government maintains that classrooms are safe for in-person learning.
The Canadian Press, with files from staff
The City of Toronto is planning to bring the coronavirus vaccine to high-risk workplaces in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, the city’s mayor said Monday as pressure mounted on the province to vaccinate essential workers.
Mayor John Tory says the city is currently developing the details of the plan, which will involve mobile vaccination units that are already being used in some hot-spot neighbourhoods. He stressed the plan is contingent on the availability of vaccine supply in the coming weeks and couldn’t immediately say when it would launch.