STF looking for earlier vaccinations for Sask. teachers

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) is hoping teachers will soon be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.

Health-care workers, residents and staff at long-term and personal care homes, and communities in northern Saskatchewan are first in line to receive the vaccine in Saskatchewan.

The second phase of the delivery plan is expected to start in April, when it’s to continue prioritizing the most vulnerable population before providing widespread vaccine access for the general population.

STF president Patrick Maze understands the current plan in place while hoping teachers will be acknowledged as frontline workers throughout the pandemic.

“I want to make sure that we’re in consideration for priority vaccination,” Maze said. “We know that it makes sense for health-care workers and for aging communities and northern communities to get the vaccine. We also want to make sure that, as the government has indicated that keeping the economy running is a priority, we keep teachers safe and school staff safe in order to do that.

“Social distancing is difficult in schools, and we haven’t been following the same guidelines as the rest of the public. It would make sense to try to get teachers and school staff vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in schools throughout the province with many students and teachers being forced to shift to remote learning.

Online schooling has been a learning curve for school divisions throughout Saskatchewan, with many families being forced to make adjustments to work from home while also having stable internet, not accounting for issues that may appear for outages or device issues.

Regina’s Catholic and public school divisions are slated to return to in-person learning on Monday. Maze says the possibility of a COVID vaccination would go a long way in making teachers feel more comfortable returning to the classroom.

“Teachers are in front of students in many communities, in most communities across the province. It’s only a handful of school divisions that have decided to have online learning for the week or two back after the break,” he said. “Some teachers definitely feel exposed and a bit at risk.

“The vaccine would go a long way in alleviating those concerns.”

Maze says it has been important to be patient and respectful of the current process in place.

“The province is doing its best with the knowledge that they have. At the same point, of course, we want to make sure that we’re not forgotten and that teachers are recognized as a frontline priority group that is facing unusual circumstances,” he said.

“So many other groups in Saskatchewan are in the same position, but we just want to make sure that if it really is a priority to keep schools running, then we need to keep teachers and school staff safe.”

All provinces in Canada are using the same recommendations in order to determine the prioritization to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Maze says there has been communication with the province’s Ministry of Health, and he’s hopeful for a positive outcome.

“We have communicated our concern with the minister, and we’re not trying to jump the queue. But at the same point, we want just to make sure that, given our situation, teachers aren’t forgotten,” he said. “It’s important to maintain in-person learning.”