Vaccine mandates are fraught.

By: Mackenzie Hedges

As the 2021-22 school year starts up, Covid-19 is still taking a big toll on how the school operates and how life commences. With the release of the Covid-19 vaccines starting in December 2021, the students want to know how many students received the vaccination and if the school would consider a public school mandate.

After sending out a vaccination poll to the students of Athens High School, 179 students responded to the question “Have you been vaccinated?” A total of 13 people said they preferred not to answer, thus bringing the total number down to 166 yes/no responses. The overwhelming majority sits at 152 students being vaccinated, while those who said they were not vaccinated total at 14.

Prompted with the previously detailed statistics, two Athens High School students responded to questions asking for their opinion on mandating the vaccine. Considering many vaccines are required for kids to attend schools and colleges, would there be any difference with the Covid-19 vaccine compared to those already required? Junior Kaela Ricket expressed that, “there is no difference between this and other vaccines being mandated/ required.”

Both interviewees stated that the only thing that is really creating the divide this time around is how politicized the vaccine has become. Senior Owen Lee states, “It was turned into a political argument by Trump.” With such strong party beliefs, there is a huge divide between who thinks the vaccine is safe versus who may not.

Considering the politicized nature of this vaccination debate, Lee mentioned that if Biden were to endorse a mandated vaccine requirement for public schools “as he did with the mask mandate,” then maybe that would change the states’ recommendations.

With Athens County and Athens High School case rates, there is concern that not mandating this vaccine is creating an unsafe environment. Lee said, “a mandate would ensure that the pandemic doesn’t range out of control again.” Though he also stated he feels “that’s not realistically going to happen.”

Both Ricket and Lee said they “would feel more comfortable at school if vaccination were required” and that neither sees a reason it should not be.

If Athens High School were to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine, the vaccine uptake could then increase. After the recent plateau, Los Angeles public schools have proven that the mandate increases vaccination rates, thus creating a safer environment for students and teachers.

Pie chart representing the previously mentioned vaccination statistics of the high school.