WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Tuesday that District government employees, including DCPS teachers, will be required to take a COVID-19 vaccine or submit to weekly COVID testing.
D.C. government employees will have until Sept. 19 to be fully vaccinated, Bowser said. Unvaccinated employees who qualify for a health or religious exemption or who choose not to be vaccinated will be required to take a weekly COVID-19 test. If they do not comply with the new policy they will be subject to job penalities.
About 54% of the 36,700 people employed by the D.C. government have already reported their COVID-19 status, Bowser said.
The mayor, who spoke Tuesday alongside D.C. health officials and labor union representatives, clarified that the policy applies to all employees who work in agencies that report to her, but highly encouraged all independent agencies to adopt the same vaccine requirement.
“I am personally ok with a vaccine mandate,” Woodson High School teacher Laura Fuchs said.
Fuchs said she knew the vaccine mandate was coming, but added she would like to see the same requirement for students. According to DC Health, 1 in 10 new cases of coronavirus are among school-aged children.
“Twelve, 13 and 14-year-olds in that age group who have the ability to be vaccinated,” DC Health Director Dr. Laquandra Nesbitt said. "We know that for our black students [it's] much lower than our rate for white students or Hispanic and Latin students."
That’s why DC Health is hosting a series of vaccine clinics in wards 7 and 8, including give away offers such as Apple Airpods.
But Fuchs said the school system is once again short on details as to how to control the spread.
“It’s really close to the school year starting and we had to watch a press conference days before our school opens to learn what might be happening,” she said.
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DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said new health guidelines mean if a student or staff member is within 3-6 feet of a positive person for more than 15 minutes they would have to quarantine.
“But there are exceptions with mitigating strategies in place like formfitting masking and some of our HVAC improvements,” Ferebee said.
Improvements like UV lights have been installed in some DCPS bathrooms and every classroom has a HEPA filter. Fuchs said neither of those upgrades are available in cafeterias where older students are expected to have their meals, according to DCPS.
“I just don’t think they’re doing enough to mitigate this,” Fuchs said, “I get how hard it is to maintain a steady school structure with all these risks, but health has to come first. I would like to see more virtual options for families."
Right now DCPS is offering a virtual option for students with documented medical issues only. Bowser said she would like DC Public Charter School teachers to be vaccinated as well but they are not government employees therefore, are not subject to the mandate.
As of Tuesday, the District has been declared as having "substantial" transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Substantial transmission means there have been 50-100 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period and high transmission means an area has seen more than 100 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period.
See the CDC's full map with transmission categorization here.
According to CDC data, 55.1% of Washingtonians are fully vaccinated and approximately 0.18% of the District's COVID cases can be attributed to fully vaccinated individuals.
The Pentagon will also require members of the U.S. military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-Sept., according to a memo obtained, at least in parts, by multiple outlets the Associated Press said. That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise.
Governors Ralph Northam and Larry Hogan adopted similar vaccine mandates last week, requiring most state employees to be vaccinated or submit to testing.
“The only way to end this pandemic is to for everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” Northam said. “As head of state government, we have a responsibility to lead by example and ensure the safety of our employees and the people they serve.
Maryland's governor had no problem making his feelings on vaccines known in his own state-wide plea.
“Just get the damn vaccine," Hogan said. "Those of you unwilling to get vaccinated are willfully and unnecessarily putting yourself and others at risk of hospitalization or death."