The New Westminster school board wants to make sure routine childhood immunizations don’t get lost in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board’s operations committee passed a motion May 11 asking the school board to write to Health Minister Adrian Dix and the head of Fraser Health to request information about existing school-based immunizations and to advocate for catch-up of the program, which has fallen behind in the face of COVID-19.
Trustee Danielle Connelly brought the issue to the table, noting routine immunizations weren’t provided in schools last year and promised catch-up has yet to occur this year.
She said the Canadian Paediatric Society has urged parents and health-care providers to continue routine immunizations during the pandemic. The society says delaying those shots puts people at risk from diseases such as measles and pertussis, and any dip in vaccination rates poses a threat to vulnerable people.
Connelly pointed out the school immunization program includes boosters, plus shots such as HPV in Grade 6 and the meningococcal vaccine in Grade 9.
She said having those immunizations available in schools is a matter of equity.
“I myself, as a middle-class family, when I discovered that my child was not looking like he was going to get them, was able to track down somebody who could provide it to him,” she said. “I don’t think that that’s available to a lot of other families.”
Connelly said the issue is particularly important in a district like New Westminster, which is a sanctuary schools district and invites in a large number of immigrant families – who may not have up-to-date, or even any, vaccines when they arrive in Canada.
“People depend on the schools for the vaccine program. I think that it’s where it belongs. It’s in the best interest of our schools and communities to keep it on schedule,” she said.
MOTION ‘OVERREACHING’
Connelly’s initial proposed motion had asked the board to advocate for the “immediate catch-up” of the school-based immunization program.
But that suggestion met with some resistance.
“I think it’s a little bit overreaching, maybe, to send this letter to Fraser Health when they have so many issues that they’re dealing with right now,” trustee Dee Beattie said.
Trustee Anita Ansari agreed.
“I really admire the advocacy here; however, I think currently, at this time, the biggest concern, as well as the most transmissive disease we’re dealing with, is COVID. I think I would be in favour of bringing this up in the fall when Fraser Health has the ability to reprioritize their work force,” she said. “In the middle of a third wave, this kind of makes me uncomfortable.”
Connelly, however, questioned whether the board should be speaking on behalf of Fraser Health.
“This to me was more understanding they’re busy, and perhaps it has fallen to the side of someone’s desk,” she said.
ISSUE KEY FOR STUDENT SAFETY
Connelly said the issue is top of mind for her, as someone who was in school during a meningitis outbreak in Ottawa that claimed the lives of six students.
“The vaccines also include tetanus. Tetanus is in the ground; tetanus is on rusty nails; tetanus is on ‘you fall and you scrape your knee.’ We don’t know the statistics of what this is doing to our health-care system right now. Do we have an influx of tetanus? Will we have an influx of tetanus or measles or anything else that is missing?” she said. “I don’t think it’s fair for any of us to speak on behalf of Fraser Health and what they’re thinking and what they’re doing.”
She also said the issue is key for her as a parent.
“As a parent, I don’t know how others work, but I know the schools take care of the kids’ vaccines. I know it happens on a regular basis; I couldn’t tell you when, but I know when I get the papers and I just sign it, ‘yep, please vaccinate my child,’” she said.
“A lot of people depend on the schools for that exact thing, and making sure that our kids are safe, that’s the rationale behind this.”
Trustee Maya Russell came to the rescue of Connelly’s motion with a suggestion that the board “request information” about the status of the program as well as advocating for catch-up. She also suggested deleting the word “immediate” from the request for catch-up.
The amended motion passed unanimously.
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