Teachers are already vaccinated and the national teachers' unions support vaccine mandates. However, educators have voiced concerns and sometimes pushed back against local leaders, who fear large numbers departing.
Oregon has a mandate that all school staff must be fully vaccinated by October 18th. The Redmond district, which is home to 7,500 students, passed a resolution last week protesting the mandate.
Michael Summers, a board member, stated that this could cause serious damage to our other mandate to provide exceptional education for the children and families in our district. "We are trying to speak for the people."
Teachers working in school districts that have vaccine requirements may opt out of the requirement if they submit to regular testing. However, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago are just a few of the growing number places that limit exemptions to religious and medical reasons. Washington and Oregon both have strict policies regarding vaccinations.
As a new school year begins, governments are taking a harder line on vaccinations to ward off the highly contagious delta variant, which has sent children to hospital intensive care beds in record numbers. Many students are too young for the vaccine which is only available to those aged 12 and above.
"This is to ensure the children we all cherish and that their families are reassured," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (a Democrat) stated last week.
Underscoring the risks of classroom infections, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented a case study in its weekly report Friday detailing how an unvaccinated teacher in Marin County, California, spread the virus to 22 of the instructor's 24 students at school. According to the CDC, the teacher could sometimes read aloud while unmasked.
Some school employees who have resisted getting vaccinated claim they will quit their jobs to get the shots.
Marlene Washington, an elementary school teacher from New York City, stated that she was considering retiring after spending two decades teaching in the classroom. She expressed concern about the safety of vaccines in the long-term.
Washington, 62, stated that he is still unsure about what to do. "But, I know that I am not going to get the vaccine."
Kiara Coleman, a Philadelphia school food service worker, stated that she won't be moving despite the uncertainty about the consequences of refusing to take a vaccine.
"I'll have to cross that bridge once I learn more details about the mandate. Coleman expressed concern about the potential side effects of vaccines and said that it would be a shame to waste all the time she has with schools.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, citing months of real-world evidence that serious side effects are extremely rare.
Rebecca Smith, a Philadelphia mother, has two daughters in third and sixth grade. She said that she shouldn't have to worry about school staff making her sick.
In written testimony, she stated that school employees were tasked with caring to some of the most vulnerable members in our society -- children under 12 years old. They are currently the only group who cannot get a vaccine to protect their health.
Teachers unions such as the United Federation of Teachers in New York City have supported no-opt-out rules for vaccines. However, they advocate for dissenting members during negotiations with the city. Talks also include severance packages and leave of absences for teachers who have to quit their jobs.
"We will stand up for them and protect their interests. Randi Weingarten is the president of American Federation of Teachers. This parent organization represents the New York City teachers union.
She stated that employers are free to impose such policies on their employees.
Minimum 72% of New York City's 75,000 public school teachers have received at least one vaccine shot.
Protestors gathered in Olympia Washington when Gov. Jay Inslee (a Democrat) announced that teachers would need to get fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or risk being fired. Hundreds of state employees from ferry workers to teachers protested the mandate against vaccinations at a Saturday rally.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat moved towards mandatory vaccinations, as COVID-19 hospitalizations soared almost 1,000% since July.
The Freedom Foundation has received approximately 700 teacher contacts. This right-wing legal group represents businesses that have been cited for violating COVID-19 in Oregon and other states.
Jason Dudash (oregon director) said that the group has been encouraging everyone to fire the school. "Don't quit. "If they are going to do this, let them do it."
Culver School District Superintendent StefanieGarber wrote to families that a district of 675 students in central Oregon delayed school starting for three weeks, from Sept. 20 until Sept. 20, to address the fallout from vaccine mandate.
Although she said that her district would comply, she feels the state officials are threatening unreasonable sanctions. These include the loss of liability insurance for the district and the cancellation of teachers' licenses.
Bo Yates, Lebanon Community School District Superintendent, stated that a district-sponsored vaccination clinic was set up in a small rural community after Brown's mandate. It attracted less than 10 teachers, and there are concerns about staffing if any of them decide to leave.
Yates estimates that between 50% to 60% of teachers and staff within his district with 4,000 students are vaccinated. When the mandate was announced earlier in the month, several dozen teachers and their supporters protested.
"In a certain way, I sympathize with them. Some of those protesting were our heroes during the COVID period. Yates stated that they were the bus drivers and food service workers who have fed our community nonstop. "But we have to follow the mandates given or we will be swimming in this ocean forever."
Redmond, Oregon's school board passed a resolution opposing the mandate on vaccines by 3-2 votes. Board members stated that the district will comply with vaccine mandate in its fight to regain local control over decisions about vaccines and mask-wearing in schools.
Liz Goodrich, a board member who voted against this resolution, stated that COVID-19 is on the rise in central Oregon, and only 57% are fully vaccinated in Redmond.
She stated, "To me, local conditions don't favor us and we have heard repeatedly that the spike for this delta variant isn't finished."
