Washington DC is Bringing Back Vaccine Mandates To Schools

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that unvaccinated students were banned from attending school in person this fall. The mayor added that students aged 12 and above are mandated to show proof of covid vaccination within the first 20 days of the new school session. 

Browser announced that “all students must have up-to-date immunization certification on file with the school within the first 20 school days or they will not be allowed to attend school or school activities until the immunization certification is secured by the school.” 

In addition, “If the student does not come into compliance within a 20-school day period, the school must remove the student from school until the immunization certification is secured by the school.”

At a press conference, Bowser announced that the unvaccinated students would also not be allowed to learn virtually. According to the mayor, students who fail to comply with this mandate would be left without education as no alternatives were provided for them. 

The District of Columbia Public Schools issued a press release on the 25th of August, which was posted on their website. It reads, “The Coronavirus Immunization of School Students and Early Childhood Workers Amendment Act of 2021, which the Council passed in 2021, requires students ages 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend school.” It also adds that “all students and staff will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before the start of the 2022-2023 school year.”

According to the Washington, D.C. database, over 40% of the black kids in this bracket are unvaccinated. The updated data also showed that 47% of black children aged 12-15 are not fully vaccinated yet. Among the older black children aged 16-17, 42% are not vaccinated.

The Department of Health spokeswoman Kelsey Felton also noted that 85% of the students aged 12-17 had been vaccinated. However, she added that there is a high probability that this number is inaccurate. This is because not all vaccines outside the district are known to the health department. In addition, records received from outside the district also do not signify the age or race of the children.

Republican senator Ted Cruz had attempted to protect these children earlier this month as they had a right to education, vaccinated or not. The Senate democrats had blocked the motion, preventing minority school kids 12 to 15 years of age from attending school.

Not adopted, 49-51: Adoption of Cruz motion to commit H.R.5376, FY2022 Budget Reconciliation to the HSGAC Committee, with instructions. (RE: Vaccines)

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) August 7, 2022

The mayor had also announced that these children who do not comply with the mandate would not have any access to education whatsoever. He said, “We’re not offering remote learning for children, and families will need to comply with what is necessary to come to school.”

The President also agrees with this mandate that refuses children the right to education as he released a statement relating to the new school year. He mentioned that any American above six months is eligible to get vaccinated and should do exactly that. It is evident that the democracy practiced by the Biden administration is one that denies children their right to proper education.