B.C.'s largest school district won't mandate COVID-19 vaccines for staff

The elected board for the largest school district in B.C. has decided it will not mandate COVID-19 vaccines for staff.

The elected board for the largest school district in B.C. has decided it will not mandate COVID-19 vaccines for staff.

In a statement Tuesday, the Surrey Board of Education said it's decided against the requirement, saying community vaccination rates are already high.

"Our board recognizes the importance of vaccines, and we continue to encourage anyone that is eligible to get vaccinated," said Terry Allen, vice-chair of the Surrey Board of Education, in a news release.

"We have an obligation to our community to keep our schools open and to continue providing a safe learning environment for our students. Schools are a low-risk setting for transmission and public health experts have assured us that our schools are safe and that we do not need 100 per cent vaccination rates for safe operation."

B.C.'s health ministry has given the responsibility of determining vaccine mandates over to local school boards. Critics have previously said, however, that the mandate should be province-wide. 

Last month, a Surrey teacher told CTV News Vancouver she didn't think a district-by-district approach makes sense.

"We’ve got 60 school districts. Are 60 school districts now going to one-by-one go through some process to determine whether and how they’re going to mandate vaccines," Lizanne Foster said.