The Washington State Board of Health has voted to not require Washington's students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for school attendance. This means this fall, immunization requirements for our students will remain unchanged.
We are anticipating the current health and safety guidance from the state Department of Health will remain in place next fall. This includes regular cleaning and disinfecting, masks optional, sharing reminders of proper hand hygiene, and physical distancing to the extent possible. As a reminder, as we have learned throughout the pandemic, the situation with the virus can evolve, and sometimes the guidance changes for us to continue providing the safest learning environment possible for our school community.
At this time, there have not been changes to Governor Inslee's proclamation requiring school employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
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VACCINATION
Vaccination is the most effective prevention strategy available for allowing schools to resume full in-person instruction. COVID-19 vaccines are available to all people age 12 and older.
Schools will begin verifying student and staff vaccinations. Fully vaccinated students and staff who do not have symptoms do not have to quarantine when exposed to COVID-19 and may not require COVID-19 testing.
You are considered fully vaccinated:
- Two weeks after you have received the second dose in a two-dose series (PfizerBioNTech or Moderna) or
- Two weeks after you have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson/Janssen)
Acceptable documentation for verifying the vaccination status of students, volunteers and visitors includes at least one of the following:
- CDC vaccination card which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided, and date(s) administered, or a photo of the vaccination card.
- Documentation of vaccination from a health care provider with the information listed above.
- State immunization information system record with the information listed above.
- Other school immunization record system that provides the information above
Parental or personal attestation is not an acceptable form of verification for K-12 students, nor for volunteers or visitors.
Schools may use their existing systems for verification of vaccines required for school entry to verify COVID-19 vaccination or establish a new system that meets the requirements above.
Schools must verify the vaccination status of staff and faculty as required by L&I.