Xavier mandates jab for teachers as Andrews prepares for return to school - from The Age

Catholic boys’ school Xavier College has told staff they must vaccinate themselves against COVID-19 before the beginning of term 4, in what is believed to be the first move by a Victorian school to mandate the jab for its staff.

Xavier principal William Doherty told staff “a duty of care inevitably exists” for those who work closely with children to be vaccinated and said that families and colleagues “should be able to expect every precaution to protect their health and safety”.

Exemptions to the vaccination mandate would only be granted in the most exceptional circumstances, he said.

The move comes as Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed work on ventilation was being carried out at schools across the state to prepare for the return of students.

Mr Andrews said the work would include hundreds or possibly thousands of carbon dioxide-monitoring devices in classrooms, as well as HEPA filters in rooms with poor ventilation.

He said it was also likely that more classes would take place outdoors.

No date has been set for the return to face-to-face learning in Victoria. Term 4 starts for most schools on October 4.

Mr Andrews would not be drawn on whether Victorian public school teachers would be compelled to get vaccinated when asked on Friday.

“I’d be encouraging every educator, every person who works in schools to be vaccinated,” he said. “We have no vaccine for people under the age of 12.”

The Andrews government will begin a 10-day “vaccination blitz” for year 12 students and teaching staff from Tuesday, but unlike the Berejiklian government in NSW, has not mandated the jab for government school staff.

Mr Andrews said that where safety was an issue, vaccines could be mandated.

“We have made it clear that where we think there is a safety imperative, mandating vaccines is something we will do. It’s not something done lightly, but it is something that we will consider,” he said.

NSW in August made vaccinations for all school staff mandatory from November 8.

Other non-government schools are assessing the legal ramifications of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.

Nikki Kirkup, principal of The Knox School said while her school had not mandated vaccines, it had compiled the vaccination status of its staff.

“At this stage, we have not mandated vaccines for staff, as luckily all staff have been pro-vaccines,” Ms Kirkup said.

Ms Kirkup said many principals would attend a legal seminar in mid-September to advise on staff, student and community vaccinations.

The union for non-government school teachers said it would meet with representatives of Xavier College next week, but so far, there was general support for the school’s position.

Independent Education Union Victoria and Tasmania branch president Deb James said vaccination mandates had already been made for teaching staff in NSW and could be made in Victoria in future.

“If so, appropriate consultation with unions would be expected,” Ms James said.

“The IEU supports vaccinations for all education staff and has long campaigned for teachers to be prioritised for the jab, and employers to provide paid leave for staff getting vaccinations.

We continue to urge members to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

The state government does not have figures on how many of the state’s 138,000 school staff have been vaccinated.

A Department of Education and Training spokesman said all Victorian teachers and school staff are now eligible for a coronavirus vaccination, “and we encourage them all to get the jab as soon as possible to protect themselves, their school communities, and get Victoria closer to our vaccination targets”.