2nd NC school district requires teachers and other staff to get COVID-19 vaccines
Teachers and other employees of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 31.
The city school system became the second district in North Carolina to mandate staff vaccinations in a unanimous vote Sept. 2. The Orange County school board made a similar decision in late August.
The school district will offer vaccination clinics and information sessions, as well as details about potential medical and religious exemptions.
Board member Ashton Powell raised the specter of North Carolina’s eugenics program and the Tuskegee experiments, which targeted Black people and other marginalized groups.
“We should not take lightly if we are looking into a mandate that there is legitimate fear of individuals that are working for us that may not want to comply and may have some issues,” Powell said.
The district will be flexible in working with staff who have concerns, Superintendent Nyah Hamlett said. There could be other requirements for employees who get an exemption, such as double masking or testing, she said.
The rapid spread of the delta variant makes mandatory vaccinations “in the best interests of our students but also our staff and our educators,” board member Mary Ann Wolf said.
“We want to do what’s right for kids, but we also care very deeply about our staff and our educators, and when you listen to the science, I think that’s very clear and consistent with what we’ve always done in terms of what vaccines we require for people to work with our students,” Wolf said.
Orange County vaccination, testing
The Orange County Schools board has given all teachers and employees until Sept. 23 to get vaccinated. The decision followed the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines do not yet have full approval.
County teachers and employees who remain unvaccinated after Sept. 23 and do not have a medical or religious exemption will not be able to work for the district, officials have said.
As of Aug. 23, 76 teachers and staff members had reported their vaccination status. The rest were asked to provide a vaccination card by Thursday.
The district is collecting information about how many employees are vaccinated and implementing its COVID-19 testing, spokeswoman Melany Stowe said in an email Wednesday. Staff will update the public on the district’s progress at Monday’s board meeting, she said.
Orange County’s school board decided against requiring students who participate in sports and some other extracurricular activities to be vaccinated. However, unvaccinated students participating in those activities are expected to start twice weekly testing this month.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district also started testing this week for unvaccinated adults and students participating in athletics and high-risk extracurricular activities, all unvaccinated district staff, and other students whose families have agreed to regular testing.
City district staff reported last week that 1,445 district employees, or about 77%, had received both vaccinations, including teachers, student teachers, substitutes, coaches and interns.
While experts have recommended student athletes be vaccinated, neither the Chapel Hill-Carrboro nor Orange County school systems are requiring students to be vaccinated.
More COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 clusters have been reported in at least 21 Triangle schools, including 14 Wake County schools, three Durham County schools and one school each in Orange, Granville, Harnett and Johnston counties.
The Wake County and Durham Public Schools systems are requiring students and staff to wear masks indoors, but have not yet decided whether to require teachers and staff to be vaccinated.
Wake County’s school board expanded the district’s masking policy last week to students involved in outdoor extracurricular activities and sports, but only when they are not directly participating. However, the board rejected a plan to require masks during recess.
Orange County Schools reported 29 cases among students last week, including 13 cases at Central Elementary School in Hillsborough. The district has reported 43 cases among students and three cases among staff since the start of the school year.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro officials reported 25 cases last week among students and staff, and 46 cases since Aug. 16. The city district’s COVID-19 tracking report does not distinguish between student and staff cases.
Danny Benjamin, a Duke University School of Medicine professor and co-chair of the ABC Science Collaborative, told the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board last week that data shows requiring staff to be vaccinated and everyone to wear masks reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection, reduces school absences, and keeps people out of the hospital.
“Right now, it’s incredibly important,” Benjamin said. “We’ve got so many hospitals that are diverting to three- and four-hour drives away right now. Several of the units around town are closed. Hospital stress right now is a non-trivial concern in North Carolina.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 3:13 PM with the headline "2nd NC school district requires teachers and other staff to get COVID-19 vaccines."
