San Diego Unified unanimously votes to postpone vaccine mandate

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Unified Faculty District’s board voted unanimously Tuesday to increase its COVID-19 vaccine mandate by greater than a 12 months, along with implementing new indoor masking metrics.

The varsity district determined to align with the state on the vaccine mandate plan, pushing any COVID-19 vaccine mandate to July 2023 or later. It is a transfer already made by Los Angeles Unified faculty district and it’s believed full FDA approval of the vaccine for ages 12 and older can be in place by subsequent summer time.

With the intention to maintain mitigation measures in place throughout excessive transmission intervals, the district can also be bringing again indoor masking.

This may occur at a single faculty if three or extra outbreaks occur inside two weeks and 5% of the college inhabitants turns into contaminated. Masks may be triggered at a faculty if 10% or extra of the scholars are absent as a result of being sick three days in a row.

District-wide masks indoors can be again in place if San Diego County reached the “excessive” degree of transmission beneath CDC pointers

Masks and vaccine alternative group Let Them Breathe was profitable of their authorized case in opposition to San Diego Unified’s vaccine mandate and had this response to Tuesday’s vote from the board:

“Let Them Breathe proved in court docket that SDUSD’s vaccine mandate is illegal. Their healthcare consultants state {that a} mandate isn’t essential. In response to each of these, SDUSD took a step in the fitting path tonight by voting to align with the state and delay implementation till a minimum of summer time 2023. Nevertheless they should cease losing tax payer {dollars} with their enchantment of our clear authorized ruling in opposition to this mandate.”

There may be at present nonetheless a authorized enchantment in course of by San Diego Unified.