CHENEY—The Washington State Board of Health (WSBOH) chose to align with the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on April 13, and voted to follow the suggestion to keep the COVID-19 vaccine off of Washington’s list of required immunizations for childcare and school entry this coming fall.
The final TAG recommendation was inked in February and comes after the panel has convened and discussed the matter on several occasions. The vote tally had six advocating for adding the vaccine, seven votes against adding the inoculation, and four votes marked as unsure within the advisory panel. The topic may resurface in future meetings.
“The State Board of Health’s decision to not require a COVID-19 vaccine for students attending our K–12 schools is in alignment with the recommendations of a technical advisory group made up of doctors, public health officials, school leaders and partners, and other community members,” said Executive Director of Communications for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Katy Payne. “This decision affirms what we have been hearing for weeks—we are in a place with the virus where it is safe for our students to be learning in their school buildings full-time with masks and the COVID-19 vaccine both being optional.”
The TAG was formed several months ago upon guidance from the state Department of Health (DOH) and (WSBOH) to evaluate several criteria to form a recommendation regarding the vaccine.
Superintendent of the Cheney School District Rob Roettger explained the expectations are for the DOH guidance to remain in place going into next school year.
“We are anticipating the current health and safety guidance from the state department of Health will remain in place next fall,” Roettger said via email. “This includes providing masks to those who choose to wear one, regular cleaning and disinfecting, sharing reminders of proper hand hygiene, and physical distancing to the extent possible while ensuring a full-time in-person opportunity for all students.”
These guidelines are currently in place, but Roettger explained the situation could change depending on potential future variations with COVID.
“As we have learned through the pandemic, the situation with the virus could possibly evolve —which may cause the guidance to change in order to provide the safest learning environment possible for our school community,” he said.
Reader Comments(0)