Teachers at schools across the province will now be required to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status, as a result of a new public health order issued on Monday.
As of Monday, January 17th, all staff of BC’s public, independent and francophone schools must share information such as how many doses of vaccine an employee has received, and when they were vaccinated.
The new order, put into place by Dr. Bonnie Henry, outlined how COVID-19 transmission among school staff members “can contribute to clusters of infection and lead to the isolation of a large number of children who are identified as close contacts.”
“Unvaccinated staff members pose a health hazard to students and other staff members due to the higher risk that they can transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others,” reads the order.
The order states that school administrators will be able to mitigate risk and respond to school exposures, cases, clusters and outbreaks much better with the required reporting of vaccination status of school staff members.
Various options for establishing vaccine status, including in paper and online format, will be accepted, says Henry.
“An employer must request proof of vaccination from each staff member and must keep a record of each staff member’s vaccination status,” the order states.
The order currently has no expiry date, and failure to comply with the order would be considered an offence under BC’s Public Health Act.
