WHO HAS BEEN VACCINATED? NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW
In Ontario, roughly 40 per cent of teachers have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — a troubling sign considering that some two-thirds of the province have received at least one shot.
Beyond this tidbit into the rate of vaccination of Ontario teachers, across other sectors, it’s less clear just how many workers have chosen to be vaccinated.
The figure on teachers is included in a letter sent this week by Premier Doug Ford, seeking advice on school reopenings and expressing concern with the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against the variant that originates in India.
“What makes all this new information concerning is that … only 41 per cent of teachers and education workers are vaccinated compared to 62 per cent of the general adult population in Ontario,” Ford’s letter says.
Yet, even in Ontario, where the premier specifically said what the rate is, the Ontario Teachers’ Federation was unable to confirm the percentage of teachers who have been vaccinated.
“We don’t have any idea how many teachers have been vaccinated at this point,” said Scott Perkin, with the federation.
It is a similar story elsewhere: Lauren Hutchison, with the BC Teachers’ Federation, said “we don’t have access to personal medical records of members, so there’s no way for us to know, unfortunately.”
In Quebec, Sébastien Joly, executive director of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, said it also didn’t have numbers, but “from the feedback received through our local unions we could say that the majority must have been vaccinated by now...”
Unions and employers consider the information private, and provinces don’t necessarily track by occupation when people are booking vaccination appointments.
Still, it’s of concern for those who want to know if their nurse is vaccinated, or if their parents’ long-term care worker has been, or if the police officer leaning in their window with a speeding ticket has been protected from spreading the virus.
The National Post sought to find out the rates of vaccination among essential workers in four provinces, asking for data on police, teachers, nurses and longterm-care workers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
The Post asked governments, unions — representing nurses and teachers — police departments and long-term care associations for any statistics they had on vaccination rates.
In every single case that responded, the Post was told this information either wasn’t kept or wouldn’t be shared, often citing privacy or medical confidentiality.
“We do not break down vaccine stats by occupation,” wrote Tom Mcmillan, a spokesman for Alberta Health, in an email. “We report by age online.”
Provincial governments in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia didn’t respond to requests for information.
In several cities across the country, police unions have been bullish in demanding that police officers get early access to vaccines. But Victoria City Police Union director Matt Waterman said “we don’t feel comfortable sharing if or how many of our members are vaccinated.”
Const. Tania Visintin, with the Vancouver Police Department, said this constitutes a privacy issue, and the force didn’t keep vaccination information.
“Those choosing or not choosing to get vaccinated do not have to disclose their wishes,” Visintin wrote in an email.
In both Calgary and Edmonton, police spokespeople said they don’t track medical information — including vaccination information — about employees.
“However we know that both sworn and civilian employees are generally supportive based on discussions our Occupational Health and Safety group has been having across the service,” said Cheryl Sheppard with the Edmonton Police Service.
The Ontario Provincial Police union said it had no information on vaccination rates, nor did the union representing officers with the Sûreté du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police. It referred the Post to the force itself, which in turn said it didn’t have the information but may be able to release it in coming weeks.
Long-term-care homes have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. But a survey of associations and unions representing their workers shows that even in this high-risk environment, there is little information available.
“Some members report numbers but since it’s self reported, we don’t have a definitive answer unfortunately,” said Heather Aggus, a spokesperson for the Alberta Continuing Care Association.
Marie Fitzpatrick, with the Ontario Long Term Care Association, said they “do not have the data you seek,” and suggested contacting the provincial government, which did not respond.
In British Columbia, the Hospital Employees’ Union — which represents many care home workers — said it has no specific information, and sent the Post a CBC story reporting that 142,000 health-care workers, and those working in assisted living and long-term care facilities have been vaccinated. The government, however, did not provide statistics on the overall number working in these fields, making a percentage difficult.
Even when it comes to those who are on the front lines in hospitals, the information is hard to come by.
Sheree Bond, with the Ontario Nurses’ Association, said the group did not have the information — but nurses have been asking when they will get their second doses.
“I know they’re anxious to be protected, but we do not have any statistics available to us,” Bond said.
The Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia also had no information, nor did the BC Nurses’ Union. The United Nurses of Alberta told the Post “we don’t have information about how many nurses have been vaccinated at this point.”
In Quebec, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, which represents nurses and other health-care providers, also didn’t have vaccination rates.