Union leader wants HWDSB teachers and education workers to immediately receive COVID-19 vaccine

A local union leader is calling for teachers and education workers in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) to immediately receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

Daryl Jerome, president of the local bargaining unit of Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, says every day that passes sees a new record number of cases of the virus within Ontario schoolswith one in every three schools in Hamilton now having at least one active case.

The month of March alone saw 243 cases in HWDSB schools, he said.

"We are calling on the provincial government and Hamilton Public Health to ensure that all education workers in HWDSB schools and sites be considered high-risk and to allow them to receive their first vaccine immediately," Jerome said in a news release.

"Additionally, we ask that those workers who work in special education sites and classrooms be prioritized due to the additional health and safety concerns that they face."

According to Jerome, the increase in cases of COVID-19 results in a massive number of vacancies due to self-isolation orders from Hamilton Public Health.

"In order to try to get this third wave under control, this government needs to take decisive and meaningful action, not just empty press conference promises," the union leader said.

"Prioritizing vaccines for front-line education workers to ensure that our schools are safe is one way to achieve this."