Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara Unified School District
In order to protect Santa Barbara Unified School District students, staff and families against the risks associated with COVID-19 and the new Delta variant known as B.1.617.2, the Board of Education approved on Thursday a Resolution requiring that all staff be vaccinated prior to the start of school, or undergo regular COVID testing.
The Resolution also recommends all eligible students and family members (those 12 years of age and older) to get vaccinated prior to the start of school on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.
The Resolution comes as a new surge in COVID-19 rates has created increasing alarm.
Santa Barbara Unified joins other educational institutions across the nation in putting policies in place to urge vaccinations.
“There exists a health emergency that requires action to safeguard students and staff against risks of infection, illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID 19,” the Resolution states. “The overwhelming scientific evidence has established that the now-Emergency Use Approval approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and have been authorized for use by the Food and Drug Administration and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for all, except in the case of children under 12 years old and certain others. The Board has a responsibility to prevent the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 infections at SBUSD sites.”
Vaccination Information and Walk-In Clinics Near You: Head to Vaccination Sites.
The Resolution was approved at a Special School Board Meeting held on Thursday, August. 5, 2021.
*Link to Approved Resolution
*A recording of the meeting and the Final Resolution will be posted to the district website.
Good move. Thank you!
It’s about time. But the thought of my kid entering high school and having to wear a mask, two years into this crisis, when she is fully vaccinated, makes me grit my teeth.
High school kids are over the age of 12. They have had plenty of opportunity to get the vaccine. My daughter was fully vaccinated by the middle of June.
Kids are required a whole raft of inoculations to attend school, so the COVID vaccine should be added to the list. If the kids haven’t had the vaccine, they should be denied entry to school. There’s plenty of precedent for this.
I don’t want my kid, going back to school next week, in the suffocating heat of August through October, having to wear a mask indoors. This is not a good learning environment.
Mask-free education for all high schoolers. Vaccine mandates for all eligible children. Expedite for the vaccine the younger kids already. This is what we should be demanding.
Fire every teacher, school administrator, and any other employees would refuse to get vaccinated. They are not the kind of people we need in our schools anyway. This is a great opportunity to flush out the crap from the system.
Finally
For the employees that choose the “regular testing” instead of the vaccine, how often will it be done? Is there any data that gives guidance? Since one can get infected any day of the week, will they test every day? Will the employee bear the cost of the testing?
Very good questions, Ahchooo!
The employee should bear the cost of testing, those employees who are choosing to not get vaccinated, not those who are immune-compromised or otherwise medically not-advised to be vaccinated.
Why just a recommendation rather than a mandate for students 12 and older?
OAITW – probably because there’s a huge anti-vax movement among the $$$ families in this town. Bored stay at home millionaire moms “researching” youtube and listening to Jenny McCarthy then demanding “freedom.” It’s gross, but very real and very influential apparently.
Just got off the Pfizer earnings call. Reporting future net income of $33 billion from the vaccine alone. Great job! Also just announced price increase of 25% for EU nations for upcoming purchases. Nice. Also doing a fantastic job at shelving Biden’s proposed TRIPS waiver which would have allowed for shared Intellectual Property so other countries could fast track and produce the vaccine for their own people. Profit wise, it’s better to leave them unvaccinated and focus on booster shots to the wealthier nations. Need to keep an eye on Sinovac and Sputnik though as they continue to contract royalty agreements with many helpless countries, acting as saviors and good Samaritans. Under this strategy, future profits look strong making this a Buy opportunity. Shout out to Chancellor Merkel for spearheading the resistance.
YES! Finally. Nice to see Santa Barbara at the forefront of science-based action.
The “emerging protocol” is twice weekly testing based on 2-3 day incubation period as viral load increases. Who cares what the cost. As long as the kids are safe.
Noted today that CNN is immediately firing unvaccinated employees entering their office buildings. United Airlines requiring all 67,000 workers to be vaccinated (but not passengers—how stupid is that?) Actually hundreds of hospitals and clinic systems now requiring all staff to be vaccinated. Why did that take this long?