Edmonton Catholic Schools is calling for priority vaccine access for all school-based staff

Your Board of Trustees is advocating strongly for all ECSD school-based staff to be at the top of the list for COVID-19 vaccines in the next phase of vaccination delivery.

Board Chair Sandra Palazzo, on behalf of our Board of Trustees, invited the Chairs of the other metro school boards in Alberta to write a letter of advocacy to Health Minister Tyler Shandro which emphasizes the need for priority vaccine for all staff that come into contact with students through the course of their work.

“Our staff have shown the utmost resiliency, professionalism, and dedication throughout this pandemic. They do not have the option of working from home and are at risk of COVID-19 exposures.  As our Chief Medical Officer of Health has stated repeatedly, as long as community transmission of COVID-19 remains high, we will continue to see confirmed cases of the virus in schools,” Palazzo said.

The province’s current roll-out plan does not include school-based staff. We are calling on the province to ensure staff who provide service in schools are prioritized next. This will help keep schools open for in-person learning, something the province has identified as a priority.

The letter that was sent to Minister Shandro last Friday is posted below. The Board and Administration of Edmonton Catholic Schools will continue to advocate for our staff.

Vaccination Advocacy - Letter to Minister

Sincerely,
Robert Martin
Chief Superintendent

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