Group for the immune-compromised calls for back-to-school plan

The Saskatchewan Immune Compromised Families group has penned a letter to the provincial government asking for clarity on its back-to-school plan.

In June the SaskParty government announced that school could resume in the fall.

Since the announcement, there’s been little guidance on how classes will operate in the COVID-19 era.

A group made up of immunocompromised people and parents of children who are compromised is calling for a clear, safe plan to be released soon and they’re willing to help.

“We need explicit support from the Saskatchewan government to get our children and teachers safely back in the classroom and would like to know what the government’s plans and ideas are to ensure safety and inclusion for immunocompromised families in Saskatchewan,” the letter sent to Education Minister Gord Wyant and other MLA’s read.

The letter goes on to detail some possible options to accommodate the immunocompromised.

It includes small groups of compromised students learning with a teacher who may have concerns to work together.

“We aren’t pretending to have all the answers, but we do have a willingness to come to the table and look for creative solutions,” the letter said.

Two members of the group joined the Opposition NDP in a teleconference on Friday to draw attention to the issue.

“If COVID is giving us this lens to really see how serious of a problem it is (immunocompromised students) I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for Saskatchewan to lead,” Founder Krysta Shacklock said.

During the teleconference, Shacklock explained that without a safe option for school for her two children, aged three and five, she has to put her on life on the back burner.

“I was supposed to start an academic program this fall that I had worked very hard to get into and now that’s not a reality for me,” Shacklock said. “I’ve had to put my goals on hold because I can’t find a safe way to have my children outside the home.”

Shacklock’s five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with lymphoma two years ago.

“Now that she is in maintenance chemotherapy she feels better but her immune system is kept dangerously low to keep the cancer from coming back,” she explained.

Kath Stevenson, another member of the group, said she doesn’t feel safe sending her daughter to school because of her son’s health conditions.

“What she brings home he’s at risk for,” she explains of illnesses her daughter may pick up at school.

While isolating at home during the pandemic Stevenson said they noticed a marked difference in her son’s health, even being able to stop using a prescription.

With September fast approaching the mothers want answers, not just for their children but for teachers who will be working with students.

Shacklack said the education minister’s office confirmed it received the group’s letter, but offered no timeline for a response or a plan.