A tap dance worthy of the Nicolas Brothers

 

Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

I, like many others, have been impressed with the way the BC government has handled its response to COVID-19. British Columbia Premier John Horgan and Minister of Health Adrian Dix were smart to allow Dr. Bonnie Henry to take the communications lead. While both Horgan and Dix speak with authority and sincerity, both are outshone by Dr. Henry.

However, like many others to whom I’ve talked, I was blind-sided by the verbal choreography of the August 24^th announcement of the mask mandate for schools. I haven’t seen tap dancing like the answers to the questions at the press conference since I saw the Nicolas Brothers! It took me a while to figure out the dance routine, a variation on the 8-beat riff walk (I think) Here is my paraphrase of what I heard:

The most effective protection from COVID-19 (and the current Delta variant) is to have had two vaccinations. However, Government is not mandating vaccinations because there have been very high vaccination rates among teachers and staff. Nonetheless, Government is being cautious, so masks are mandated in schools (grade 4 and up). Moreover, to check the spread of the Delta variant, Government is requiring vaccine passports for people who wish to voluntarily attend and congregate at sporting events and in restaurants. But as far as schools and universities – places where people are congregated – Government is not requiring vaccinations because the risk of infection is low (and the political risk of requiring vaccinations is high).

I don’t have a clue about the political calculus, if any, but, like everyone else, I can speculate. Issuing a vaccination mandate might appear straight forward, but on closer inspection might prove more challenging for government. If the government or school boards mandate vaccinations, their employees, or the representatives of the employees (in most cases unions like the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), could argue that the mandate breaches the Charter rights of their members.  Whether the employees or unions would prevail in court in the face of a health pandemic is questionable. But government’s response is puzzling, nonetheless.

Governments don’t like dustups with anyone, especially those perceived to be friendly to the current regime. However, the BCTF has been calling upon government to “mask-up.” Surely the Federation is not hesitant about mandating vaccinations for its members. Especially since, as we were told, almost 80% of teachers and support staff are said to have been vaccinated. I’m no lawyer, but I doubt that the courts would grant a stay of a vaccination mandate while the issue was adjudicated.

It appears to me that the BCTF is doing a bit of tapdancing of its own. On August 24^th, Terri Mooring, President of the BCTF, said that the Federation would not be opposed to making vaccinations mandatory for its member. Four days earlier, the BCTF launched a petition urging on government to do a variety of things. The petition reads, in part:

Given what we know about the highly contagious Delta variant, we need to err on the side of caution and return to schools with everyone wearing masks. Vaccinations are integral to safer schools, but can’t be our only line of defense. We know for certain that none of the students 11 years old or younger will be vaccinated, and the vaccination rate for eligible youth still isn’t as high as we would all hope to see.

We need more than vaccines. 

The BCTF is also urging government to implement the following measures ahead of the new school year:

·         School-based clinics to allow easy access to vaccinations for ages eligible students.

·         Funding for ventilation system upgrades to meet the minimum standards of MERV 13 filters, and HEPA filters in workspaces where MERV 13 filters are not possible.

·         N95 and/or medical-grade masks available for all students and staff upon request.

·         Comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy that includes asymptomatic testing.

·         Designated time for health and safety training at all schools and worksites.

Readers will no doubt note what I noticed: The Federation says more than vaccines are needed, but it never calls upon government to mandate vaccines.

The members of the BCTF hold the organization in high regard, but I wonder whether members will be scratching their heads as I am, wondering why the Federation did not call upon government to issue a vaccine mandate instead of declaring it would not oppose one.