The Premium Debate: How teacher vaccine mandate is impacting Bay of Plenty schools

Half of the teachers in some western Bay of Plenty Schools do not intend to be vaccinated. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

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As the November 15 deadline for teachers to have their first Covid-19 vaccination approaches, concerns are being raised about the potential impact on schools. Rotorua school principals interviewed expected most of their staff would comply with the mandate. In the western Bay of Plenty, however, a survey found that, while most had high compliance, half of the staff at some schools did not want the vaccine, prompting a strong response from readers.

No jab, no job ... it's a very simple equation. Anyone intelligent enough to be an "educator" must understand and accept the science behind vaccination. If they don't accept it, then there is no role for them in our schools. It is, without doubt, their choice not to vaccinate - but it is also society's choice to not allow them to endanger children, their parents, extended families and friends either. No one could successfully argue that carrying a loaded gun into a school is safe, or acceptable - and neither is carrying a life-threatening virus. Teachers, it's time to get a grip on reality.
-Roger H

If they aren't responsible enough to take a safe and effective vaccine to protect themselves and their communities then they should not be teaching anyway.
-Steve E

It's probably for the best that people so lacking in critical thinking skills are leaving the profession.
-Mark Y

In reply to Mark Y: Hear hear - imagine what ... yes actually imagine what they are saying to children. I don't think respect would be in their intellect.
-Anthony C

How incredibly selfish on the part of the teachers. Obviously, they are in the business of teaching for themselves and have no thought for the students, whanau or wider community. A very poor attitude indeed.
-Paul H

I think 90%+ at my school. I got vaxxed for my students first. Myself second.
All of us think that way. It's not about the job etc. It's about what's best for our students
-Elizabeth P

Whilst pro-vax myself, this singular focus on the vaccine is destructive. Society needs to accommodate different views and beliefs. The vaccine is one measure to keep us safe but needs other layers such as rapid testing, masks etc. Putting a few hundred thousand NZers effectively in prison and out of a job is not a viable option. 5%, 10%…. it's a lot of people, like it or not we need systems and rules that accommodate them. This many people not working will have huge consequences for us all. Maybe worse than the risk we are trying to mitigate.
-Daniel S

Nobody actively wants to get vaccinated, who wants a needle stuck in their arm? We do it because we know it will protect us and, as importantly, protect others around us. It's called doing our bit. What don't these people understand about this?
-John C

I wonder if their "intentions" will hold when they stop getting paid.
-Steve D

I doubt there's going to be a lot of sympathy for these teachers. The students and their families come first. Just as in a health setting we put the health and welfare of the people seeking our services first and make sure we are vaccinated.
-Gervaise L

That's fine if teachers don't wish to be vaccinated, I think most parents have been vaccinated and will want to protect their loved children, most will have their children vaccinated when available. I am sure the unvaccinated teachers will find other suitable employment.
-Derek B

in reply to Derek B: Or not! If they choose not to vaccinate, unless they "work from home" they might well struggle to land a job, and earn a living, and pay their mortgages and bills. By the way, benefits should be withheld from anyone not vaccinated - and for the record, I am both a beneficiary AND vaccinated.
The choice is simple - comply with society and the safe, intelligent, scientifically proven demands, or find yourself as an outlier!
-Roger H

Goodbye unvaccinated teachers. I doubt they'll get much sympathy from Joe Public as they walk down the road into the dole queue, or into their superannuitant years. Having said that, I find it mind-boggling that certain localities seem to have higher concentrations of teacher anti-vaxxers than elsewhere. It's nuts because teachers are supposed to be the cognitive leaders in communities, not the cognitive stalemates. Last point: the article hasn't stipulated what part of the education sector the highest proportion of anti-vax teachers come from - be it kindergarten, primary, or college?
-Timothy T

Teachers should absolutely have the choice whether they want to be vaccinated. Where there is risk there should always be choice. We do not mandate what people choose to eat and other lifestyle choices. It's a dangerous overreach to mandate a medical intervention. Do stop and think where does this all go? Does anyone really think it all stops with two jabs, three jabs? It will just continue.
-Edward W

If the choice affects you only that's fine - however with Delta it is an individual's choice versus the safety and harm of society - it's not only about you.
-Potter O

Do you really want your kid's science teacher to not believe in science?
-Brent D

I'm a teacher and got double vaccinated before the mandate was out - it was a simple choice. I chose for the immunocompromised people in my family and in my classroom. The children in my class rely on me to be there for them every day, not super sick if I get Covid and then spread it to them also. I did it not because I was told to do it, but because I feel it is the right thing to do. I don't think the Government is causing segregation, I think the average people of NZ are doing that by themselves with all the bickering. The Government is doing what they are supposed to do; try to keep us safe.
-Katie F

Top private schools required no Government mandate to get 100 per cent of their staff vaccinated, with most "seeking" that requirement beforehand. With parents accepting it as a matter of course, those same schools having already seamlessly moved into online learning at the start of the Delta outbreak. Easy to be cynical that money has a lot to do with this, but at the same time revealing how vaccine hesitancy can easily be overcome.
-Rick F

Here is a scientific experiment you can do for yourself. Open your eyes and look at the Australian states. Vaccines go up - transmission goes down. Conclusion: vaccinating makes us safer and freer. The unvaxxed problems are easily dealt with. Get vaxxed.
Help us all to move on. If you are having surgery the anaesthetist is putting all sorts of medically useful poisons into you. Who complains? There is no problem.
-Simon F

The Government has already separated the team of 5 million by vaccinated or not then by five subgroups based on ethnicity then pitted DHBs against each other. Perhaps let schools run classrooms by vaccinated or not. Parents made their choices, there shouldn't be a reason for them to object to a non-vaccinated teacher for non-vaccinated students. No matter what, schools should be closed until younger students have the opportunity to be vaccinated or not. Further reducing their risk of major impact of getting Covid.
-Tony S

In reply to Tony S: No, the Government is not separating, the unvaccinated teachers are, and they are doing that by their own choice. Claims that the drug is "untested" are turning into nonsense as more and more people (5 million jabs so far) are being jabbed without side effects. It would be unsafe for the rest of staff and children for unvaccinated teachers to be in schools, because they are 20 times more likely than vaccinated people to pass Covid-19 on to others.
-Jeremy H

- Republished comments may be edited at the editor's discretion.