Pressure Mounts on Doug Ford to Make COVID-19 Vaccines Mandatory for Ontario Students

Pressure on the progressive conservative government of Prime Minister Doug Ford is mounting to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for attending public school in Ontario.

With Health Canada expected to soon approve the Pfizer vaccine for children ages five to 11, opposition parties are urging conservatives to add it to the list of nine mandatory vaccinations that students should already receive.

“Vaccination against COVID-19 should be like any other childhood vaccine,” NDP MPP Marit Stiles (Davenport) told reporters Wednesday in Queen’s Park.

“It should be added to that mandatory list“Stiles said, referring to vaccinations needed for chickenpox, diphtheria, measles, meningitis, mumps, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough for children ages four to six.

There are medical, religious, and “conscience” exemptions from these vaccines, but parents must complete the educational sessions and obtain approval from local public health officials and their family doctor or nurse practitioner.

While Dr. Kieran Moore, the medical director of health, is reviewing whether to add a 10th vaccination to the school roster, Liberal House leader John Fraser said the province should do so.

“We have to get people there. It’s about educating people, ”Fraser said, noting that vaccines have been mandatory for other diseases for decades.

Green leader Mike Schreiner said that “when approved” in Canada, the COVID-19 vaccine should be included for school children.

“Yes, we think there should be a tenth. Vaccines have been shown to be the best way to leave the pandemic behind, ”said Schreiner.

Health Minister Christine Elliott noted that 88 percent of Ontario residents age 12 and older have received a dose and 84 percent are fully vaccinated. She predicted that the government would replicate that success with children ages five to 11.

“We have been working for months on a vaccination plan for children from five to 11 years old. We recognize that approval from Health Canada can come very quickly, ”he said.

Elliott said Ontario’s 34 public health units have submitted their region-specific plans to vaccinate children against COVID-19.

“Many of those vaccination programs will take place in schools, perhaps not during school hours, but after working hours and on weekends,” the minister said.

“Some children may not be able to do it for medical reasons. However, we are encouraging all parents to get their children between the ages of five and 11 vaccinated as soon as it is available with approval from Health Canada, ”he said.

“We will be able to supply those vaccines. We have the orders. We have the capacity to do it and we are ready to deliver. Just as we have done successfully with adults, we will also do it with children. “

But Stiles suggested that Ford undermined the potential effectiveness of the plans for school children when he said Tuesday that he understands why parents can be suspicious.

“Do we want to vaccinate them? Yes, ”said the prime minister in Ottawa.

“But there are some parents who are… a little indecisive at the age of five or six. I get it. So let’s do our best and vaccinate as many people as possible. I also understand that you do not want to vaccinate your five or six year old. Do I want everyone to do it? Hundred percent.”

Stile said that “the prime minister himself cast further doubt on vaccines for children.”

On Tuesday night, the government’s science board of pandemic advisers released a new report recommending “vaccination in schools.”

Moore, who will hold his weekly news conference Thursday afternoon, said in August that it was “prudent and reasonable” to start looking at an immunization strategy for students. “We are in an active discussion with the Ministry of Education about having an immunization policy,” he said at the time.

Robert Benzie is the bureau chief for Star’s Queen’s Park and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie