Why these parents, teachers want COVID-19 vaccines to be mandatory for school staff – CBC

Mandatory vaccines are controversial, but in CBC News questionnaire many educators thought it was a good idea

May 20, 2021

Both of Laurie Dagg-Labine’s kids have missed out on high school rites of passage. Her 18-year-old daughter, Ada, bought a long black prom dress, but her school’s prom was later cancelled. Her 15-year-old son, Nolan, started Grade 9 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to do the activities he used to love at school, like playing chess, basketball and hockey.

“Any of the excitements of entering high school just weren’t there,” said Dagg-Labine, who lives in the northeastern Ontario city of Timmins.

“To say that they’ve struggled would be an understatement.”

Ada and Nolan, who’ve had to abruptly switch to online learning twice since March 2020, don’t know what their next school year will look like.

Their mom believes that this disruption and uncertainty can be avoided in the future — if COVID-19 vaccines are mandatory for everyone at school, including teachers and other staff.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mandatory-covid-vaccines-school-staff-1.6033242