COVID Vaccines Will Not Be Required For K-12 Students: WA Health Board

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington students will not be required to have their COVID-19 vaccines before returning to class for the next school year, following a unanimous vote Wednesday in the state Board of Health.

According to the Associated Press, the board's technical advisory group narrowly approved recommendations in February, advising against adding the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the state's list of immunizations required to attend public K-12 schools, pointing to limited data available for younger students and "potentially unpredictable social impacts" of a broad mandate.

Wednesday's final vote followed hours of discussion during the virtual board meeting, with a decision arriving just after noon.

"It was a methodical process, and it was an extensive process, and that was by design," said Dr. Umair Shah, the state Secretary of Health. "I hope that community members will feel that that was exactly why the [technical advisory group] took the time to consider all of the different elements of this issue, knowing how important it was to all of Washington and especially to parents for their kids."

As The Seattle Times reports, members of the board noted that the COVID-19 vaccine is currently approved under an emergency authorization for children ages 5 to 15 and has yet to achieve full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Bob Lutz, Spokane's former health officer, said mandating the vaccine for K-12 students was a "very contentious issue" and shared concerns from some school leaders that new requirements could lead to absenteeism or parents choosing to pull their children from school.

Lutz also pointed to recent surveys that found many parents remain hesitant about vaccinating younger school-aged kids.

"This is, again, an issue that is very challenging," Lutz said. "We will continue to advocate for vaccines because we know they're effective, but we also have to look at the social implications thereof."

While Washington's overall COVID-19 vaccination rates are relatively strong, percentages decline by age group, being highest among seniors and lowest among the youngest eligible.

The state Secretary of Health said Wednesday's vote should not be taken as a lack of faith in vaccines, but rather as the result of a comprehensive review of whether a school-level mandate would prove effective.

"The Department of Health very much supports the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations," Shah said. "It's been shown to prevent severe disease, hospitalizations and death, and we believe it is safe and effective in all eligible populations. I also want to affirm the overall recommendation of the technical advisory group, but that does not take away from the fact that our department continues to remain committed in its work...to encourage the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19."

Dr. Tao Kwan-Gett, the state's science officer, said the board could revisit the need for adding COVID-19 vaccinations to the state's K-12 requirements based on better data for school-aged kids, or if a new variant was shown to be more severe in young children.

Washington administrative code currently requires students receive immunizations to protect against 11 preventable diseases. So far, only California and Louisiana have mandated COVID-19 vaccines for schools.

Watch the full Wednesday meeting below:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.