Both here in Canada and in the U.S., there are growing numbers of colleges and universities who are now mandating that their students and staff be fully vaccinated to attend classes and extracurricular activities. However, there continues to be a Hodge poach of policies across both the U.S. and Canada when it comes to mandatory vaccinations. In some cases, governments are refusing to require mandatory vaccinations in postsecondary institutions. This is the case in Ontario, Canada, where the Premier has refused to support such policies. This position has created an array of confusing approaches among schools, which go from mandatory vaccination on campuses to simply encouraging students and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Where students cannot be vaccinated for health reasons or are hesitant to be vaccinated, some policies include the option of being tested two or three times a week for COVID in order to attend classes and extracurricular activities.
O.K. Let’s look at the facts. Recent data from Health Canada show that 51 percent of Canadian adults aged 18 to 29 were fully vaccinated by July 31st. As of that date, Canada had over 80 percent of eligible people vaccinated with their first dose and approximately 64 percent fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the national seven-day moving average rose to 1000 daily cases on Aug. 8th, an increase of 326 from the week prior, largely owing to the spread of the Delta variant. The facts indicate that those infected by the highly contagious Delta variant who are subsequently hospitalized are primarily among the unvaccinated and the majority (well over 90 percent) are younger than was the case during the first and second waves. Public health officials are on record that being fully vaccinated represents the primary defence against the Delta variant, preventing more serious illness and hospitalizations. Unfortunately, left to their own discretion, some colleges and universities are acting as if there is not a pandemic happening, and vaccines are not the way out of it. On the other hand, surveys have shown that students and faculty members for the most part say they are concerned that not mandating vaccination could lead to outbreaks, and they will not feel safe on campuses should the schools let students return to classes without vaccination. As a result, in Ontario, the Council of Ontario Universities and Colleges Ontario called for a province-wide policy that requires the vaccination of post-secondary students, staff and faculty.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported last year, before vaccination was possible, colleges that diminished their student impact by remote instruction brought about an 18 percent decline in COVID-19 disease in their surrounding community, while those that did not brought about a 56 percent increase. The difference would be greater now, with Delta circulating. The fact is that not fully vaccinating campuses is guaranteed to spread a fourth wave to the communities which host them.
As far as the legal ramifications of implementing mandatory vaccinations on campuses, there is already litigation challenging such policies. However, the general belief is that such challenges will fail given the nature of the pandemic and its related public health issues, not only on campuses but in the community at large. For example, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently denied an emergency relief request challenging Indiana University’s requirement that all students and employees get the COVID shot. It’s the first time the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on a vaccine mandate during the pandemic. The liability excuse in Canada is also a weak bogeyman for inaction, because there has never been a successful lawsuit for vaccine injuries in Canada.
Let’s forget any arguments about stigmatizing the unvaccinated or shaming them on campus. The issue of vaccination is one of public health for the community at large, and more specifically the health of students and staff at colleges and universities across both countries. Indeed, as Delta variant cases rise in this fourth wave, one is seeing a change of heart by many postsecondary schools, a number of which have now introduced mandatory vaccination requirements. Hopefully, more will continue to do so before on-campus classes commence.
FROLITICKS 