'Leading by example': Wellington has the highest jab rate for teachers at 98.3%
The Ministry of Education said the sector is leading by example with the majority of its workforce already vaccinated against COVID-19.
The ministry held a recent survey among schools and other offices in the industry, which revealed high vaccination rates among registered teachers, teacher aides, as well as other staff as mandates took effect in mid-November.
The schools involved were not required to answer the survey as the ministry is not the employer of teachers, and the office had a disclaimer saying the results were not "definitive”. However, the data still showed that from the 93.6% of schools that responded, with the vaccination rate for teachers at 97.6%, while rates for teacher aides and other staff posted 95%.
"Wellington has the highest vaccination rate for registered teachers at 98.3%. Followed by Canterbury/Chatham Islands, Auckland and Otago/Southland who all have teacher vaccination rates of at least 98%," the ministry told the media.
Vaccination rate at the Ministry of Education staff was also at 97%, while employees from the Education Review Office who are covered by the mandate are all immunised against COVID-19.
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Staffing issues
The ministry also reported that majority of schools across New Zealand are managing their resources well despite the threat of staffing issues caused by the mandate on the education sector.
"We found that the vast majority of schools and kura are managing with the resources available," said Sean Teddy, an official from the ministry. "To date, most have not required any support from us, which is very reassuring and testament to the great work schools and kura are doing to minimise disruption to teaching and learning.”
In the meantime, the ministry's regional staff will continue coordinating with schools to find solutions in case issues arise. Education workers are required to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by November 15, and their second dose by January 1.
