A little jab'll do ya: Some N.L. teachers back mandatory COVID vaccinations for school staff

This story is part of a CBC Newsseriesexamining the stresses the pandemic has placed on educators and the school system.For the series,CBC Newssent a questionnaire to thousands of education professionals to find out how they and their students are doing in this extraordinary school year. Nearly 9,500 educators responded. Read more stories in this serieshere.

Some educators in Newfoundland and Labrador have expressed support for requiring school staff in the province to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

That was one of the findings of a recent CBC News questionnaire sent to education professionals across the country, from St. John's to Vancouver Island.

Among the questions: do you believe that vaccines should be mandatory for school staff?

In Newfoundland and Labrador, more than three-quarters of those who answered said yes.

That number was among the highest of all regions of the country that were surveyed. The overall number in Atlantic Canada averaged seven in 10 responding positively. It dipped as low as six in 10 "yes" answers in British Columbia.

A Toronto employment lawyer says the issue has been the subject of much debate.

"This is probably the hottest topic in terms of employment law, and so I'm getting calls nonstop on it," Ryan Watkins, a partner with the firm Whitten & Lublin, told CBC News.

Watkins says there is a case to be made that employers in this case, a school board can require COVID vaccinations for staff.

"An employer is required to keep their workplace safe," Watkins said."And one way we can do it with a global pandemic is to ensure that our workforce is vaccinated."

He cautioned that there areexceptions, for medical or religious accommodations.

No mandatory vaccinations in N.L.

But mandatory inoculations are noton the radar in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Six months ago, at a provincial coronavirus briefing, Premier Andrew Furey said vaccinations were "highly suggested, but at this point we're not considering legal measures to make it mandatory."

And there has been no movement on the issue since.

The Health Department recently told CBC News that receiving a COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory in this province, and public health officials are not considering changing that.

Schooling Under Stress project

Last month, CBC News forwarded a questionnaire to 2,202 education professionals across the province. Some200 of them responded.

It was part of a cross-Canada effort to share the voices and views of thousands of teachers, as part of a project called Schooling Under Stress.

Opinions contained in the CBC questionnaire should be treated differently from the results of a public opinion poll or survey.

The sample of respondents is not necessarily representative of either the voting public, or of education professionals in the province.

More than three-quarters of respondents in Newfoundland and Labrador were teachers. The rest were teaching support staff (such as education assistants or librarians), maintenance/facilities workers, or administrators (principals/vice-principals).

CBC used publicly available email addresses listed on school websites to send the questionnaires in late April.

Respondents called for vaccination priority

While the majority of respondents in this province called for school staff to get mandatory vaccinations, there was also discontent expressed about where teachers fell in the queue to get the needle.

Teachers were not prioritized in the initialphases of vaccine rollout, but were included in a more recent call earlier this month.

Respondents to the questionnaire thought that should have happened sooner.

Among their comments:

• "Teachers should have been vaccinated at the very beginning of Phase 2. This wait is unacceptable. We deserve better. Students are often not wearing masks or not wearing them properly and we are unable to social distance. We are at a very high risk of contracting COVID-19."
• "Teachers should have been vaccinated when students returned to class. Teachers are in every household bubble in the province and as essential workers we should be treated with the respect we deserve."
• "It is also an insult to be one of the last groups to be vaccinated. I would have expected to be vaccinated prior to the reopening of schools."

The province's teachers union recently said about 15 teachers from Mount Pearl Senior High contracted COVID-19 during the variant-fuelled outbreak that plunged Newfoundland and Labrador into a February lockdown.

• Return to class plan 'fragile' for COVID-wary high school teachers after Mount Pearl outbreak

Canada-wide, roughly 85 per cent of respondents to the CBC News questionnaire said they are somewhat, or very, concerned about contracting COVID-19 at work.

Last fall, a similar CBC News questionnaire found that many Newfoundland and Labrador teachers were feeling burntout.

• Schools still COVID-free, but concerns linger for some teachers in N.L. classrooms

At the time, respondents indicated they were exhausted and fearful, as they coped with being in classrooms during the pandemic.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador