We are now six weeks away from students heading back to the classroom, but exactly what that will look like remains to be seen.
Chatham-Kent’s Medical Officer Dr. David Colby says the youth vaccination rate isn’t quite as high as he would have liked, there is a chance kids might be able to get their shots in school this fall.
“I’m certain that we’ll be much higher before school starts because they are trickling in to the Bradley Centre,” Colby says. “We are looking at the options of taking a mobile vaccination clinic to the schools.”
As for COVID safety measures in the classroom, Dr. Colby says it’s possible that fully vaccinated students could do away with face coverings.
“The Science Table has recommended to the province that if vaccination rates are sufficiently high, then masks should not be necessary for students, but that’s a big if with regard to vaccination rates. This will primarily be decided on a provincial basis between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.”
As of Monday’s update from Public Health, 50% of Chatham-Kent youth aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, while 30% are fully vaccinated with both shots. That lags behind the provincial average of 64.6% for first doses and 41% for both.
