Hamilton-area post-secondary schools, including McMaster, say vaccines not mandatory this fall

All main post-secondary institutions in the Hamilton and Niagara regions — including McMaster University, Mohawk College and Redeemer University — say they will continue to pause their COVID-19 vaccine mandates as the start of the fall semester approaches.

McMaster, Niagara College and Mohawk said they encourage people to get vaccinated and wear masks, but won't have mandates for those either.

"McMaster faculty who are experts in virology and other health fields also help to guide our decisions. All have indicated that the right course given the current circumstances is to continue to pause the vaccine mandate and to strongly encourage masking," read a public statement from the university's president and provost on Wednesday.

"As a society, we are finding balance in how we manage the ongoing COVID challenge. We have learned to be flexible and to adapt to changing times. We know now more than ever the importance of being respectful of each other and that it is up to all of us to help keep our community safe."

Though the university did say it may need to quickly reinstate mandates barring a change in advice from public health or changes in government requirements.

"This could impact the ability for students to complete fully in-person courses, and employees may not be able to attend university property and could be subject to other outcomes based on their vaccination status," read the statement, prompting mixed reactions when posted on social media. 

How other schools are approaching fall 2022

Mohawk College and Brock University confirmed a similar approach in an email to CBC Hamilton on Wednesday.

Redeemer, in a statement online, asked everyone to "show care and respect for one another as individuals and make the best choices for themselves given their own personal circumstances."

It comes as Hamilton, Niagara and other regions across Ontario continue to experience a wave of COVID-19, although Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said earlier this month the wave has peaked.

Other schools across the country are taking different approaches as the pandemic continues:

• University of Western Ontario, in London, Ont., is implementing vaccine and masking requirements for students, faculty, staff and some visitors. That vaccine mandate now requires a third booster shot. 
• The University of Toronto stopped requiring proof of vaccination for those attending classes earlier this spring, but says students and staff planning to live in campus residences will need to have two shots and at least one booster dose.
• The University of Manitoba and Memorial University of Newfoundland will have a masking mandate in place, but won't have a vaccine mandate.
• Saskatchewan's main post-secondary institutions won't have mandates in place.

Questions about Western U's booster mandate

Dr. Zain Chagla, the co-medical director of infection control and an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, said vaccines are effective and help prevent severe outcomes. He called the booster and masking mandates "a little bit odd."

Chagla said risk of severe disease is relatively low among the young adults who make up Western's student body and the policy doesn't take recent Omicron infections into account.

Third-dose uptake in the 18 to 29 age group is currently about 39 per cent in Ontario, lower than any other adult age group.

By comparison, roughly 85 per cent in that young adult cohort have two vaccine doses.

Chagla said Western's policy doesn't account for the fact that many people received third doses more than six months ago and may have waning immunity, he added, noting that the policy may not do much to prevent COVID-19 transmission.