Ottawa Catholic School Board has highest staff COVID-19 vaccination rate in Ottawa

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

The Ottawa Catholic School Board has the highest vaccination rate for employees among Ottawa's four school boards, with 92.9 per cent of employees attesting to being fully vaccinated.

The high vaccination rate comes as the Ottawa Catholic School Board prepares to approve a new mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all staff and visitors on Tuesday.

Of the Ottawa Catholic School Board's 6,069 employees, 5,640 employees have attested to being fully vaccinated, while seven employees have been granted a medical exemption. As of Sept. 22, 422 employees with the Catholic board have not yet submitted an attestation form.

According to the draft COVID-19 vaccination policy for the Ottawa Catholic School Board, staff failing to respond to requests for confirmation of their vaccination status will face disciplinary action "up to and including termination."

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says 88.7 per cent of its 11,923 employees are fully vaccinated, while seven employees have been granted exemptions. A total of 809 employees have not yet submitted a vaccination attestation form.

The Conseil des ecoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario reports 69 per cent of its 2,842 employees are fully vaccinated, 4.8 per cent of employees (136 people) have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and four employees have been granted a medical exemption. The CEPEO says 574 employees have not yet filled out an attestation form.

At the Conseil des ecoles catholiques de Centre-Est, 63.44 per cent (3,337 people) of the board's 5,260 employees say they are fully vaccinated, while seven employees  have received a medical exemption. A total of 1,696 employees at the CECCE have not yet submitted their COVID-19 vaccine attestation form.

In a note on its website, dated Sept. 17, the CECCE said 93.7 per cent of staff who have reported to work since the start of the school year have said they are fully vaccinated.

The Ontario government required publicly-funded school board employees to disclose their vaccination status by Sept. 7. Staff who are not fully vaccinated will face rapid antigen testing requirements.

On Sept. 1, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board voted to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all staff. The policy requires employees to receive their first dose by Sept. 30, with the second dose "as soon as medically allowed and available."

MANDATORY VACCINES AT OTTAWA CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD

The Ottawa Catholic School Board will vote Tuesday evening on a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all board staff, visitors and volunteers at schools.

"The purpose of this mandatory vaccination policy is to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 in our school system and to ensure a safe and healthy learning and work environment," says the proposed policy.

Staff say unvaccinated staff will have 14 days after the policy is approved to provide proof of their first vaccination.  Partially vaccinated staff will have to receive their second dose within two weeks of the policy being approved, or within two weeks of becoming eligible to receive the second dose.

Individuals who do not have a validated medical reason or an Ontario Human Rights code-based exemption may request an unpaid leave of absence, up to two years.

Volunteers must show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to a school principal to enter the building.