Kids in Kindergarten through Grade 3 should be required to wear masks in B.C. schools this year, the teachers union says.
Terri Mooring, the B.C. Teachers Federation president, said Monday the mask mandate that applies to students in Grade 4 and up should be extended to include young children as well.
"The government has mandated mask-wearing in schools for adults and students in Grades 4 and up, but that's not enough to keep everyone safe," Mooring said.
In the Central Okanagan, only 56% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says. But 81% have had at least one shot, the BC CDC says.
To get the vaccination rate higher, Interior Health announced last Friday it will host vaccination clinics at some schools after classes resume on Tuesday.
But there are no school-based vaccination clinics planned for the Kelowna-area this week, according to information posted Monday on the IH website.
A vaccination clinic will be held Thursday at Kalamalka Secondary School in Vernon, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and there's also one in Armstrong at Pleasant Valley Secondary School on Friday from 8 a.m-4 p.m.
Other school-based vaccination clinics take place this week in the IH region in Castlegar, Grand Forks, Nelson, Keremeos, and Trail.
There is no requirement that teachers or other school staff be vaccinated. And people who say they can't wear a mask for medical or other reasons will not be required to produce a medical note to that effect.
Barely half of Kelowna students have been double-vaxxed - The Daily Courier
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