Faculty groups want mandatory vaccines for students, staff heading to Manitoba universities - Action News
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Manitoba

Faculty groups want mandatory vaccines for students, staff heading to Manitoba universities

The Manitoba government and university administrators should implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for students and staff attending provincial universities this fall, a faculty organization says.

'With a fourth wave looming,' mandatory vaccination policy is prudent, faculty organization says

The University of Winnipeg, pictured, the University of Manitoba, St. Boniface University, University College of the North, Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College and Red River College have said they will highly encourage people to be double vaccinated but it will not be mandatory. (Darren Bernhardt/CBC)

The Manitoba government and university administrators arebeing urged to require COVID-19 vaccination for students and staff attending provincial universities this fall.

The Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA) said on Tuesday it has passed a unanimous motion calling for "decisive action" to keep faculty, staff, studentsand their families safe when classes resume in fall.

More than 400 U.S. universities and colleges have implemented mandatory vaccine policies, while those in Canada have been wrestling with the controversial idea.

"Our universities and provincial government have an opportunity to be proactive in this instance,"MOFA president Dr. Scott Forbes said in anews release.

The Manitoba government hadalready implemented vaccine requirements for individuals going to large-scale sporting events,movie theatresandrestaurantinteriors with people outside their immediate household, he said.

Some of those requirements will be scaled back this weekend in anticipation of Manitoba hitting its next immunization uptake targets nearly a month in advance, according to public healthofficials on Tuesday.

"It really makes no sense to exclude universities and colleges when we are insisting on mandatory vaccination elsewhere, and from a legal perspective, it is quite clear that such a move is permissible," Forbes said in the release.

"With a fourth wave looming, and a highly transmissible delta variant in the community, a mandatory vaccination policy is the prudent move."

Manitoba's universities and colleges, whencontacted by CBC News in early July,said they would not make vaccinations compulsory when the fall term starts.

All of the schools University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, St. Boniface University, University College of the North, Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College and Red River College said full vaccination ishighly encouraged but not mandatory.

The schools also saidthey intend to operatea blended model of in-person and remote learningfor the fall term.

"The University of Manitoba strongly encourages all UM community members to get vaccinated, but is not requiring proof of vaccination outside of public health regulations," a U of M spokespersons said Tuesday.

The exterior of a brick and stone building with the sign
The University of Manitoba said it's not 'requiring proof of vaccination' outside the bounds of existing public health measures. (Dana Hatherly/CBC)

The University of Winnipeg also said Tuesday it hasn't changed its plans, though it encouragesthose in the post-secondary school system to get protected heading into the 2021-22 academic year.

"We strongly encourage all faculty, staffand students to get vaccinated if they have not already done so," the statement reads.

The U of W is planning anon-campus vaccinationclinic Aug. 11 forstudents, staff and their families.

Wiggle room for legitimatereasons: MOFA

MOFA said in its news release that there are complexities that come with a call for mandatory vaccination and anyone withlegitimate medical reasons should be exempted.

The organization also said international students may face difficulties because of vaccine inequity, and proposes"a science-based grace period" for them so they have ample time to access vaccines upon their arrival in Manitoba.

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech), theUniversity of California-Berkeleyand Harvard University are among the U.S. post-secondary schools that require vaccination.

In Canada, the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association has called for mandatory vaccination, and Seneca College requires vaccinationfor all in-person activities.

MOFA represents over 1,500 faculty, instructors and academic staff from the Uof W, U of M, Brandon University and St. Boniface University.

With files from Samantha Samson