Tridico tries to ressurrect vaccine issue. Doesn't get far

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board Trustee Grace Tridico tried to raise the hot-button vaccination issue at a board meeting last night, but was quickly shut down by chair Marchy Bruni.

"I think everybody knows how I feel about the issue of vaccinations on school property," Tridico told her fellow trustees prior to presenting a new, surprise resolution on the controversial subject. "Mainly because we're an educational facility and not a medical facility."

"I also argue that there would have been a lack of patient confidentiality. However, it became clear, and I'm not sure that everyone on the board would agree, that the board lacked a clear vaccination policy and didn't have a clear direction when we debated the issue in September and October," she said.

Tridico's proposed policy outlined several guidelines that she said could reduce the liability risk associated with the administration of vaccinations on school property.

Her guidelines included the implementation of a vaccination committee, use of surveys to gauge public opinions and concerns, town hall meetings and obtaining legal opinions on liability issues.

However, before she could finish her presentation, Chairperson Marchy Bruni informed Tridico that she must first bring a notice of motion in order to have the policy added to the agenda, before it could be discussed by the board,

Last fall, the Huron-Superior board made news across the province when it refused to allow provincially ordered doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to be administered in its schools.