Bowser Announces Vaccine Mandate for DCPS and Charter Personnel and Student Athletes (over 12)

[jsteele]

There have been a few threads on this topic that I've had to remove for various reasons. So, rather than wait for someone to get it right, I'll just post this myself.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-school-staff-child-care-covid-vaccine-mandate/2021/09/20/771e53cc-1a10-11ec-bcb8-0cb135811007_story.html

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday that all D.C. teachers and school staff and early child-care workers must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 1, eliminating a testing option for these professionals who regularly interact with children who are often too young to be vaccinated.

The vaccine mandate was expanded to include workers at charter and private schools and day cares, who were not covered by a requirement announced by Bowser last month that included a test-out option.

A majority of the D.C. Council has asked the mayor in recent weeks to remove the testing option and extend the vaccine mandate to charter school employees, child-care workers and other city contractors who interact with children.

Monday’s announcement will do so, requiring a coronavirus vaccination for those and other school and child-care workers who are not employed by the government.

Bowser also announced that student-athletes participating in campus sports who are 12 and older must be vaccinated by Nov. 1. Students who turn 12 between Sept. 20 and Nov. 1 must be vaccinated by Dec. 13. Fairfax, Loudoun and Montgomery counties have enacted similar requirements for their student-athletes.

This also applies to private school personnel and child-care workers, but those are topics of other forums.

[Anonymous]

Good. All districts should be doing this.

[Anonymous]

This should apply to DPR employees too.

[Anonymous]

Great news! Hopeful my kid can have a regular sports season now.

[Anonymous]

Huh. I wonder if we will see a bunch of school employees quit, as has been proposed by some on this board.

[Anonymous]

I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

[Anonymous]

Does it apply for all students who are competing against a DC team in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

Because participating in a sport isn’t a right. Attending public school is. So you can attend school without getting vaccinated while the vaccine is under EUA, but you can’t participate in optional activities.

[Anonymous]

Hmm perhaps my child will make the basketball team then. I was preparing my “good try” speech.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised this thread isn't getting more love. I'm really pleased about this move. I have been alarmed by the high rate of adult Covid cases since the year started and it just doesn't match what we know about the rate of breakthrough infections in vaccinated populations. Really glad Bowser took this step, even if it's later than I hoped. I would also think that after a few weeks of seeing how these positive cases and quarantines disrupt school for kids and adults, that any unvaccinated adult working in a school would wise up and see that getting a (free!) vaccine is better than dealing with this on an ongoing basis.

This plus the news about Pfizer submitting for approval for 5-11 year olds has made this a pretty great day for everyone who cares about kids getting to go to school in a safe environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm perhaps my child will make the basketball team then. I was preparing my “good try” speech.

Points for funny!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

Because participating in a sport isn’t a right. Attending public school is. So you can attend school without getting vaccinated while the vaccine is under EUA, but you can’t participate in optional activities.

Also because these student athletes are exposed to more covid risk by virtue of playing sports (especially contact sports or indoor sports) and if you are going to do that, you should reduce the odds of bringing that infection into the school by being vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

Because participating in a sport isn’t a right. Attending public school is. So you can attend school without getting vaccinated while the vaccine is under EUA, but you can’t participate in optional activities.

+1

Once the vaccine is fully approved for 12-15, they can mandate it for school attendance. Until then, extracurriculars are a legal target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

Because participating in a sport isn’t a right. Attending public school is. So you can attend school without getting vaccinated while the vaccine is under EUA, but you can’t participate in optional activities.

+1

Once the vaccine is fully approved for 12-15, they can mandate it for school attendance. Until then, extracurriculars are a legal target.

So why not all extracurriculars?
How about the school play?
Dance at Ellington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for people getting vaccinated.

However, why is it that those in the age range for 12-15 have a mandate when it is still EUA for them?

Because participating in a sport isn’t a right. Attending public school is. So you can attend school without getting vaccinated while the vaccine is under EUA, but you can’t participate in optional activities.

+1

Once the vaccine is fully approved for 12-15, they can mandate it for school attendance. Until then, extracurriculars are a legal target.

So why not all extracurriculars?
How about the school play?
Dance at Ellington?

I'd be curious to hear how Covid has impacted these extracurriculars. Are they doing plays in masks? Or outdoors? Or scrapping them altogether? It's hard to imagine them having public performances in indoor venues. Maybe the drama clubs are making videos outside, I don't know. If someone does, they should share.

Dance is part of the curriculum at Ellington, so it's harder to make the argument there. They aren't making kids vaccinate for P.E. class either, which is more analagous. Plus there are lots of ways to minimize spread in dance (focus on solos, limit rehearsals to just one or two kids, masking, etc.). Those things aren't possible in a sport like basketball or soccer, especially during competition.