Faith-based schools in Hamilton continue to post lowest vaccination rates

Faith-based schools in Hamilton continue to make up the majority of Hamilton's least vaccinated institutions - a trend that's persisted since public health first made the numbers public Nov. 15.

Eight of the 10 schools with the lowest per cent of students fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are Christian or Catholic schools, with inoculation rates ranging from 25 to 44 per cent.

Meanwhile, the 10 most-vaccinated schools - where rates hover from 87 to 90 per cent - are in more affluent parts of the city, including four in Ancaster, two each in Dundas and on the west Mountain, and one each in Waterdown and Lynden.

The school with the largest proportion of students vaccinated is St. Joachim Catholic Elementary School in Ancaster at around 90 per cent, while the lowest share belongs to Bellstone Christian School in Mount Hope at 25 per cent.

Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 25, schools posted an average inoculation rate increase of 4.8 per cent. Only 10 institutions - the majority elementary - recorded gains higher than 10 per cent. Twenty schools posted upticks lower than two per cent, including six - four of which are Christian or Catholic - that recorded no change at all.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com