Estimates of vaccination rates at various schools in Toronto

As the Toronto-Ontario government prioritizes parents’ choices about whether to vaccinate their children, there is little information about school vaccination rates to help children understand their risks.

Only one health unit in Ontario publicly publishes a breakdown of school immunization rates — Wellington-Duffelin-Guelph, numbers ranging from 82.4% to 28.4% in at least one vaccination in public schools Private Christian school.

Linda Rice, outside of Kimberly Junior Public School on Toronto’s main street, said: “They should be able to do it without invading privacy — it’s just a number, a percentage of children.”

Toronto is one of the majority of health units that do not disclose their data. Therefore, CTV News Toronto estimated the vaccination rate by estimating the COVID-19 vaccination rate at the neighborhood level and the number of TDSB registrations last year. For public schools in the city of Toronto.

Our estimates at secondary school ranged from about 87% at least once inoculated at the Lawrence Park University Institute to just 51% at Yorkdale Secondary School.

The proportion of children under the age of 12 who are not eligible for vaccination in the lower grades was found to be the largest predictor of school vaccination rate estimates.

This was as high as 48% in King Edward Middle School and High School and zero in schools without qualified personnel.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Health Officer Keeran Moore said students would need to wear masks from grades 1 to 12, but life would return to near normal and even club and indoor contact sports would be possible. Stated.

“I don’t expect a different approach, whether or not the child is vaccinated. We don’t know about their vaccine status,” Moore said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said vaccines are not essential for qualified students and school staff, even though the state has stated that it is the best chance to avoid the fourth wave.

“The government has made decisions in connection with mandatory vaccines, but we haven’t. We will respect the choices of our parents,” he said.

The Ontario government website states that “unless there is a valid exemption, children attending elementary and junior high school are immune to diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, whooping cough and chickenpox. You have to. ” ..

Parents need to submit proof of their child’s immunity to the local public health department to keep their immunity up to date.

“Unimmunized children are at increased risk of illness,” the website says.

However, public health officials say that children may be partially protected if families and teachers are vaccinated, and broader vaccination rates are the “keystone” of strategies that include common sense health measures. Said.

Dr. Lawrence Law, a medical officer in the Peel region, said:

The Ontario Department of Education has told CTV News Toronto that it will release more information on what to do in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in schools.

“In addition to the health and safety guidance for grades 2021-22, health officers will provide up-to-date guidance on COVID-19 outbreak management in schools. Details will be finalized in consultation with the local health center. It is, and will be announced shortly, “said the statement.

Near Kimberley Middle School, Janice von’s son Aiden said he was excited to return to school “because he wants to meet his friends.”

Fong himself was a little more cautious, saying, “I hope there is a proper protocol to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the school.”