Brandon University slammed for lack of vaccine mandate

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This article was published 20/08/2021 (1839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon University’s decision to recommend — and not mandate — that students and staff be vaccinated has rankled some who work and study on campus.

While most post-secondary schools announced Thursday they would mandate vaccinations, Brandon University issued a statement strongly encouraging it.

“I worry even more now about the safety of campus, after this, than I did before,” said Allison McCulloch, an associate professor in Brandon University’s political science department.

McCulloch must teach in-person this fall, though she’d prefer to stay online.

“I’m disappointed and certainly nervous to be going back into the classroom in a few weeks’ time with this vague sort of encouragement (rather) than mandate on vaccinations,” she said.

Institutions, including the University of Manitoba and Red River College, have set dates on when staff and students must have their doses. Schools have outlined alternative measures, such as regular testing or remote learning, for people who can’t be inoculated.

“We are trailing considerably behind in terms of ensuring safety,” McCulloch said. “There’s lots of places we can look to on how to ensure that people are safe, as well as making sure that we aren’t unduly restricting access to anyone.”

Mandatory vaccination is not off the table, said Grant Hamilton, director of marketing and communications at Brandon University.

The university is consulting with several groups, including unions and public health officials, about its COVID-19 policies.

“We’re hoping that we can support a transition to a fully vaccinated campus as quickly as possible,” Hamilton said. “Whether that is a mandate or something else has yet to be determined.”

Some schools outside the province have COVID-19 testing mandates that fully vaccinated people don’t have to participate in, Hamilton said.

“The upshot is the same, but the way it’s portrayed is slightly different,” he said. “We’re looking at all kinds of things.”

He didn’t have a timeline on when Brandon University would release more information but said it wouldn’t be long.

Gautam Srivastava, president of the Brandon University Faculty Association, said the association wants a vaccine mandate and hard dates on when people must have their doses by.

“When the press release came out and I saw there was some disparity (from other post-secondary institutions) there, I was a little bit disappointed,” Srivastava said. “We were hoping for something… more concrete.”

However, there’s still time for Brandon University to update its policies, which Srivastava said he wishes would take place soon.

More than 1,200 employees and enrolled students of Brandon University have been vaccinated, Hamilton said. The school typically has about 3,000 students, and the faculty association represents 280 members.

Classes will generally be capped at 25 people this fall, and masks and physical distancing will be required. Brandon University is giving prizes to folks who get fully vaccinated during the summer, and it’s hosting a vaccination clinic on campus during the first week of school.

Onello Bahingawan, a second-year music education student, said he’d prefer people on campus be vaccinated, or otherwise subject to testing.

“I feel like that would be a good balance,” he said.

Bahingawan, 18, will attend all of his classes in person. He said he’d be fine sharing a room with people who aren’t fully vaccinated if they’ve tested negative for the virus.

Classes will begin the week of Sept. 7.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca