Maritime universities report high rates of vaccination among students ahead of September classes
Maritime universities are encouraging students to get vaccinated before returning to campus, but none are making it mandatory.
The question has been posed at post-secondary institutions across the country.
With students returning to class in just a few weeks, only two Canadian schools have made the decision to make vaccinations mandatory: The University of Ottawa, and Seneca College in the Greater Toronto Area.
No on-campus vaccination requirement has been recommended by any of the three Maritime public health authorities.
"We had that discussion in the spring and early in the summer," says Jeffrey Carleton, St. Thomas University's association vice-president. "We reached out and consulted with public health on what the best route to go was. We've watched vaccination rates carefully. We've also surveyed our students."
Carleton says the university's survey suggested a high number of students would be fully vaccinated once classes began Sept. 8 "at a much higher rate than other people their age in New Brunswick."
Carleton says 96 per cents of students stated they had already or intended to be fully vaccinated by September.
"We're confident with what students have told us about vaccines," says Carleton. "We're going to follow the direction of public health with regard to awareness and education."
Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. also surveyed students about their vaccination status or intentions.
"We had more than 90 per cent of students indicating they will be vaccinated when they come, so again a very high percentage," says Daniel Keefe, Acadia University's provost and vice-president academic.
"We don't think a mandatory vaccination policy is necessary. We're following the route of education and encouragement."
Several COVID-19 vaccination clinics are scheduled on Maritime university campuses in early September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won't have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.