Sign posted on the Worrington's front door (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

COVID-19 MANDATES

Immunocompromised families struggle with hard decisions as mask mandates end

Apr 20, 2022 | 4:47 PM

KAMLOOPS — Following spring break, mask mandates were dropped in the province, and last week School District 73 voted to pause their vaccine policy for staff.

“When I think of people that are at risk going to school, I think about children that maybe have a peanut allergy and we all do everything we can to make sure those students can be safe at school and it can be inclusive. I wish it could be the same for kids from households that are immunocompromised, that we could all do our part to keep those kids safe as well by wearing masks in schools,” said Vanessa Worrington, a mother of two school-aged sons.

Vanessa is immunocompromised. So is her husband and one of her two sons, making the recent decision to return her other son, Ethan, to school a difficult one.

“(The policy change) is a definitely something that plays a part in our decision as a family, that is often very difficult to weigh our safety versus getting on with life and our social interactions,” said Vanessa.

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SD73 says the decision to pause the policy was made after consultation with public health officials and their vaccine committee. It was noted the policy can be re-instated quickly if needed.

“We did work with our committee, reviewed all that information and made a decision to advise the board that yes, indeed it’s time to pause because the landscape has changed and restrictions have changed,” said Rhona Nixon, SD73 Superintendent.

“I think it’s a luxury for people to feel confident that if they were to get COVID or a loved one was to get COVID that they would not have any severe consequences as a result. I think that not all of us are in the same situation, we need to be more mindful of that,” said Vanessa.

Nixon understands that some families are in different situations than others, but the districts needs to trust the health guidance provided to them by Interior Health.

“What we have to do is trust the health guidance,” said Nixon. “When we contacted Interior Health to ask about, do we need to keep any restrictions, do you think we need to do something different for our students who are immunocompromised, do we need to do something different in schools? The answer we received is that no the measures in place are appropriate and there is no need to increase them.”

Through the early stages of the pandemic, the Worringtons chose to enrol both Ethan and his brother in the home-hospital education program to keep them safe. But Vanessa agreed being in a proper school setting is beneficial to a students growth.

“We’re trying to walk that fine balance of trying to be part of school and part of community and other things in our lives, and keeping everybody safe. It’s a bit of a tricky balance,” added Vanessa.

For now, Ethan remains back in school full-time, but Vanessa told us their family’s red line in the sand stands at an 8 per cent transmission rate. At that point the home-hospital program could again become the best choice to keep them all safe.