B.C. parents want rapid testing for kids in high-risk schools as Ontario launches program

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Some B.C. parents want the province to follow Ontario’s lead and bring targeted rapid COVID-19 testing for kids who attend schools and child care in high-risk areas.

Since COVID-19 vaccinations are currently not approved for use in children under the age of 12 in Canada, Rani Senghera, with Surrey’s District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), says parents especially want rapid testing in elementary schools.

“Since Surrey was a hot spot last year, I think parents are really open to that idea of having that rapid test available to students and parents. One, because it breaks down the time where it doesn’t take as long to get the results (and) two, I think it just gives the parents the peace of mind if they can just do everything quicker and at home,” she said, adding tests make communication clearer and add transparency, especially as the Delta variant spreads.

In Ontario, the rapid testing program targets areas where the “risk of transmission is high,” and includes students who are asymptomatic.

Related article: Ontario announces rapid COVID-19 testing for schools, child-care settings in high-risk areas

Senghera says if B.C. follows suit, testing should be targeted to hot spots.

“What works for one district or for one school doesn’t necessarily work for every district or every school,” she said.

Schools like Cambridge Elementary, Jarvis Elementary, and Al-Hidayah school in Fraser Health all had to close for two weeks last year because of COVID-19 outbreaks.

DPACs in Vancouver, Surrey, and Burnaby previously wrote a joint letter to the province asking for rapid testing in schools.

Rapid testing can provide ‘peace of mind’: BCTF president

B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Teri Mooring says she welcomes the idea of rapid testing in hot spots, adding she would like to see the Peace Region, areas in Northern B.C., and parts of the Interior targeted.

Mooring says the union has already been calling on the provincial government and health officer to develop a comprehensive testing strategy for K to 12 in B.C. that includes asymptomatic testing.

“We feel that that hasn’t been adequately addressed within schools. I’m not surprised that Ontario is putting in place a system for rapid testing,” she told NEWS 1130. “We think that testing, including rapid testing … could really support the health and safety measures in schools.”

Many BC parents think we should follow Ontario's lead and introduce rapid COVID-19 testing for students in hot spots. Metro Vancouver district parent advisory councils in Surrey/Vancouver say they like the idea & think it should be targeted at areas with high COVID cases#bcpoli

— Lasia Kretzel (@rhymeswpretzel) October 5, 2021

However, the union hasn’t received a response about plans for testing.

“Obviously, we’re not the experts. So, we are calling on the government and the provincial health office to ensure that a plan is developed and then to share that publicly. It’s really important during the pandemic that this kind of information and considerations around testing do get shared,” she said.

“I think the whole point here is to get people some peace of mind. And I think the utilization of testing in schools can really help provide that.”

Mooring says the union is noticing “alarming situations,” as B.C. has already seen a rise in COVID-19 cases among school-aged kids since classes resumed last month.

“We ought to be doing more to make sure that schools are healthy and safe environments. This is certainly a fairly simple step that can be taken.”

The BCTF president says she is confident the province’s move to expand the mask mandate include all students from Kindergarten to Grade 12, as well as improvements with ventilation at schools “absolutely help to sort of ease people’s minds.”

Related video: Mask mandate in effect for all K-12 schools

Mooring also thinks a rapid testing program should include teachers.

“We understand how the virus is being spread in schools. And the part that we feel really hasn’t been looked up particularly is asymptomatic transmission, especially amongst children who might not show symptoms as readily as adults do.”

On Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced his education counterpart, Jennifer Whiteside, would be establishing a committee to explore vaccine mandates for schools.

Health min @adriandix says @JM_Whiteside establishing a committee to give school boards guidelines if they want to go forward with mandate (she didn't say this yesterday only that Boards are employers in this situation).#bcpoli @NEWS1130 @CityNewsVAN #covid19 #bced

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) October 5, 2021

On Friday, Pfizer said it had submitted preliminary research to Health Canada on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged five to 11.

Last week, Mooring said the union would work with the province to ensure their member’s safety if a vaccine mandate was introduced. On Tuesday, she said a focus should also be on getting more kids aged 12 to 17 vaccinated.

“In communities where there’s a high level of vaccine hesitancy, we see very low vaccination rates amongst the 12 to 17-year-olds. And so we think more work needs to be done in those areas to increase those numbers,” she said.

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If rapid testing gets the greenlight in B.C., Senghera hopes the financial burden is not put on students and their families.

“Budgets are already tight, the cuts have already been made, the students have already been suffering,” she said. “So this is something that the government should be taking on and providing for the students.”

Either way, Senghera hopes the province consults parents, whose concerns she says have not been heard so far.

“Parents’ voices are very, very important.”