What Stanislaus educators have to say on state COVID vaccine or test mandate for teachers
Teachers must receive the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing, according to a statewide policy Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.
The Modesto Teachers Association supports Newsom’s vaccine mandate, union President Doug Burton said in a statement. “We believe the vaccines are safe and effective, and science has shown that the best way to ensure the safety of our students until a vaccine is approved for their age group is to make sure the adults around them are vaccinated,” the statement said. “Also, the mandate allows an option for those who choose not to be or are unable to be vaccinated.”
Newsom, a Democrat, publicized the new policy at an elementary school in Oakland, where the school district had already decided to impose such a requirement on teachers.
Stanislaus County districts had not imposed their own vaccine requirements, waiting for rules from the state.
Thousands of K-12 students resumed full in-person learning this week in districts including Modesto City Schools, Sylvan Unified School District, Turlock Unified School District and Ceres Unified School District. COVID-19 infections in children are rising.
San Jose Unified and Long Beach Unified school districts have announced teacher vaccine or testing requirements. Sacramento City Unified School District proposed one earlier this week.
The order from the California Department of Public Health takes effect Thursday and schools must be in full compliance by Oct. 15.
Over half of Patterson staff vaccinated
More than 50% of staff at the Patterson Joint Unified School District were vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the 2020-21 school year, spokesman Johnny Padilla said in an email. School officials expect that number to be “significantly higher” when staff return from summer vacation next week, he said.
“We know that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but for those employees and students who have not been vaccinated, we will continue to administer regular testing to mitigate the spread,” Padilla said in a statement. “Our entire health staff has been trained to supervise a self-administered, noninvasive, rapid antigen test.”
Modesto City Schools has not tracked staff’s vaccination status, Chief Communications Officer Krista Noonan said in an email.
After Newsom’s announcement, Noonan said the district “will assess the details and work with our labor partners to discuss implementation and next steps.”
A University of California, Merced, expert in virology and immunology said requiring vaccines for teachers will reduce COVID-19 exposure for students under 12 who aren’t able to get vaccinated.
“I think that’s as much as we can we can do at this point, barring kids themselves getting vaccinated,” Professor Juris Grasis said.
As the delta variant causes more children to become sick, it’s important to take every precaution possible to protect them from the virus, Grasis said. School officials need to continue requiring masks and using HVAC ventilation systems in addition to requiring the vaccine for those who are eligible to receive it, he said.
“The thing that we have to all keep in mind is keeping children safe and keeping those who are unvaccinated safe, and get through this next wave,” Grasis said.
Public, private schools affected
The new rules apply to public and private schools. They are intended to keep students safe, particularly those under 12 who can’t get vaccinated, and help kids from being exposed to the coronavirus and having to stay home from school.
Though vaccines have been widely available for months, just under 64% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated, while nearly 10% are partially vaccinated, according to state data. In Stanislaus County, 47% of residents were fully vaccinated and 13% were partially vaccinated as of Monday, according to state and county data.
The highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus is driving a surge in COVID-19 cases across California and the country. Over the past week, about 6.4% of COVID-19 tests have come back positive in California.
The Newsom administration is already requiring state workers to either get vaccinated or be tested weekly. Health care workers also face a vaccine requirement in California but soon won’t have the option to test out unless they have a medical or religious exemption.
Newsom, who faces a recall election in September, has endured political backlash for requiring children to wear masks in schools. Like the teacher vaccine rules, Newsom argues the mask policy will help keep children and teachers safe and help keep schools open.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 1:21 PM.
