Ontario’s doctors are calling for mandatory vaccination of those working in schools and mandatory indoor masking to ensure a safe return to school, the Ontario Medical Association said Thursday.
“Children are currently ineligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines and are therefore reliant on others to keep them safe,” said OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam.
“Schools should be safe places for everyone. That’s why we are calling for vaccine requirements for teachers and others who work in schools in addition to mandatory masking indoors and other measures as schools reopen in September.”
The call for back-to-school safety measures as the province moves toward reopening and the Delta variant spreads follows two earlier recommendations by Ontario’s doctors: one for mandatory vaccinations for health-care workers, and one asking the province to create a vaccine certificate that employers and private businesses could rely on to know their customers, employees and colleagues have been fully vaccinated.
Ontario is moving toward Step 4 of re-opening, and a spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant is leading to rising hospitalizations among unvaccinated and concerns about a fourth wave.
The OMA says the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent a resurgence of the pandemic is for everyone to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, and to continue following all public health measures.
“Together, the measures recommended by doctors will help us all stay safe,” said OMA CEO Allan O’Dette. “By protecting our health, we are also protecting a continued reopening of our economy.”
To find out where you can get your COVID shot, ask your family doctor or visit Ontario’s vaccine booking portal.
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