Ontario's High School Students Reportedly Could Go Back To School Before Elementary Kids
School is currently set to return to in-person learning on January 17.
Some students in Ontario may have to wait longer than January 17 to get back to their classrooms.
On January 3, the Ford administration extended the return to in-person learning until January 17. During this time, all students across the province are taking their classes remotely at home.
The Toronto Star reports, however, that high school students could make it back to schools sooner than elementary kids due to their higher vaccine rates.
One government source told the publication that they could see high schools opening back up on Jan. 17 for fully vaccinated students, while elementary schools might have to wait longer.
According to the source, this is because more elementary students between 5 to 12-years-old still need to get their COVID-19 vaccine doses, as high school students had a longer time period to get vaccinated while young children just got the opportunity to do so as of November 23.
Based on the Ontario government's COVID-19 vaccine data, only 2.3% of 5 to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, and 44.8% have gotten one dose. Meanwhile, 82.4% of Ontario's teenagers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with 86.1% being partially vaccinated against the virus.
A few of Ontario's teachers' unions penned letters to Premier Ford that expressed their disappointment over the current public health measures.
"This shift to remote learning is frustrating because we know it could have been avoided had the province funded and implemented safety measures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and not half-measures. We recognize the hardships that come with another round of remote learning. To ensure this is the last time we need this emergency measure, we will continue to call on the Ford government to invest in adequate infection prevention measures," Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario President Karen Brown wrote.
Some of the recommendations the ETFO suggested to Ford included providing N95s to all education workers, HEPA filters in classrooms and shared school spaces, and booster dose priority to everyone who works at a school in the province.
On January 6, the Ontario government announced it will be giving that priority at a mass vaccination clinic in Mississauga, where it will book all education workers from bus drivers to educators for appointments.