Update: On August 24, the University of Waterloo announced that proof of vaccination will be mandatory this fall, with accommodations available for medical or human rights grounds.
We have closed the form for adding signatories to the letter. Thank you to everyone who supported this call. FAUW looks forward to working with the University administration in making sure that faculty have a confidential mechanism for sharing their vaccination status and/or the need for accommodations. FAUW offers assistance to our members who require medical and human rights accommodations and will continue to do so around mandatory vaccination.
The open letter
Faculty members at the University of Waterloo are excited to welcome students from across Canada and around the world to our campus in September so that we can resume in-person teaching. We owe it to our students, ourselves, and our community to do this safely.
The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) is pleased to see that the Council of Ontario Universities and Colleges Ontario have called on the Ontario government “to provide a province-wide policy that would require the vaccination of postsecondary students, staff and faculty.” The FAUW Board of Directors, Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association,* Librarians’ and Archivists’ Association (LAAUW),* Renison Association of Academic Staff,* St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association,* Environment Graduate Student Association,* University of Waterloo Staff Association*, and Graduate Student Association - UW* call on the University to show leadership by announcing now that it will require all students, staff, and faculty engaging in on-campus activity this fall to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, regardless of the provincial government’s response. We support appropriate exceptions and accommodations as per the Ontario Human Rights Code and frequent testing as an alternative for faculty, staff, and students who are not fully vaccinated.
While other safety measures such as distancing and masking are important and should continue, vaccination is currently the most effective tool at reducing symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19. The reality is that only about 60% of the Ontario population is fully vaccinated as of now, and this rate is even lower in the 18-29 age group. Waterloo Region was hit particularly hard and early by the Delta variant, which is substantially more transmissible than other variants of the virus. The greater the proportion of the population that is not vaccinated, the easier will be the spread and evolution of the virus, leading to the emergence of variants with even greater ability to cause breakthrough infections. Unless vaccination is required for on-campus activity, outbreaks are more likely, including those with the potential to close UW to in-person activities. The health of students, staff, and faculty—and their families, friends, and other contacts off campus—will be needlessly put at risk.
Other faculty associations (e.g. UWOFA at Western) have called for mandatory vaccination, Seneca College has officially adopted a vaccination requirement for on-campus activities, and Conestoga College is considering one. Hundreds of universities in the United States have mandated vaccination.
We also call on the Ontario government to legislate in this area for the safety of all Ontarians.
Signatories
*Additional organizations across campus signed on to this call:
- The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association signed on August 11.
- The Librarians’ and Archivists’ Association (LAAUW) signed on August 11, with this statement: "LAAUW supports the call for mandatory proof of vaccination or testing on campus in order to ensure a safe return to campus. Following an evidence based call for vaccinations or testing is the safest way possible to protect those who cannot be vaccinated, minimize future learning disruptions, return to our in person campus community, and continue to provide a world class education.”
- The Renison Association of Academic Staff signed on August 13, adding: "The RAAS Executive supports calls for mandatory vaccination requirements, including proof of vaccination, to keep post-secondary institutions safe for students, staff, and faculty on campus and to keep our families and communities safe off campus."
- The St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association signed on August 13.
- The Environment Graduate Student Association signed on August 17.
- The University of Waterloo Staff Association signed on August 18.
- The Graduate Student Association - University of Waterloo signed on August 18.
In addition, 1,521 individual members of the UWaterloo community have signed the letter, including approximately 620 faculty, 190 staff, and 700 students.
Why this matters to our members
970 members of the UW community submitted their reasons for signing. These are just a few:
To support access to campus for immunocompromised students, faculty and staff.
We owe it to the community to show leadership on this issue. We can’t advocate for health and safety in our research if we can’t provide either on our campus.
Vaccination is important to make sure our community remains an open, vibrant and interactive. Universities are supposed to bring people together.
I am signing to protect those who cannot get vaccinated.
I want to minimize disruptions to in-person learning for all UW students and my own school-aged children.
Students deserve in-person learning. We need to insure its return as our educational mandate. Mandatory vaccination allows us to do so safely as fully as possible.
My son is currently 16 months old and cannot be vaccinated. I don't feel right going to work, taking needless risk, and coming home to him.
I teach on campus this fall and believe that mandatory vaccination is the safest possible way to hold face to face classes.
I have two children at home who cannot yet be vaccinated, and it would give me peace of mind during on-campus activities to know the university was helping to protect them.
Requiring vaccination sends a powerful message about how seriously the university takes the health risks of the pandemic and the safety of the campus community, as well as reinforcing support for the legitimate scientific expertise calling for everyone to be vaccinated.
I am vulnerable to more severe consequnces from COVID as are members of my family. Vaccination is the best way to protect everyone.
To NOT take this stance would be to deny science, which runs completely counter to what universities are about. Every fall we welcome thousands of students from all around the province, the country, the world. We owe it to them, their parents and ourselves (faculty and staff) to make this environment as safe as possible.
For the safety and well being of all community members (local and global).
Post-secondary education is a bastion of knowledge. The best knowledge and evidence we have says vaccinations will reduce or prevent adverse effects and limit the drain on an already stretched healthcare system.
Vaccine mandates are the most effective way to keep everyone safe and to reduce spread and outbreaks. Refusal to implement a vaccine mandate is a failure to take necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of the campus community.
Why this matters to our students
Because I believe people should do their part for public health and safety.
We’re privileged to even have vaccines. Everyone has to do their part if we ever want this pandemic to reliably end.
For my safety and my mental health. So I don't have to come to school and finish my studies under immense stress or worry about COVID.
Returning to in-person activities without vaccination is dangerous and unethical - the United States is currently showing us what could happen without proper caution.
As a graduate student and course instructor I am concerned not only for my health, but the health of the students I teach. The evidence is clear as to why vaccination is the healthiest choice. As a research institution we should be following that evidence.
Mandatory vaccinations have existed as long as my short lifespan has happened. There's no difference now, this needs to be done.
It's for the co-worker who is a caregiver for their immunocompromised parent, the classmate who still lives at home with young siblings, or the professor who has an infant at home. Getting vaccinated is a choice, putting others at risk shouldn't be.
No more lockdowns please. They really affect my mental health.
I want myself, my fellow students, and my family to feel safe in these tumultous times. This is the best way to prevent new variants, so lets do all we can to save lives, prevent further lockdowns, and help our economy.
Let's get back to school!!!
University of Waterloo should be a leader in health and safety for its students, staff and community.
I don’t feel safe going to class if everyone is not fully vaccinated.
I know several immunocompromised people who are at severe risk and will not come to campus unless vaccinations are mandatory. Vaccinations are safe, effective, healthy, and available to all those in Canada. The choice not to get a vaccine is willingly endangering others. We do not allow drunk people in cars; we should not allow the unvaccinated in crowded spaces.