Peabody School Committee Member Slams State Vaccination Threshold

PEABODY, MA — Peabody School Committee member Jarrod Hochman lashed out at the recently updated state indoor mask guidance for schools during Tuesday night's meeting, calling the 80 percent coronavirus vaccination threshold for removing masks inside a school building "a red herring" and saying that parents should "plan on children wearing masks for the duration of this school year and perhaps beyond."

Hochman was reacting to Superintendent Josh Vadala's update that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's order requiring universal mask-wearing in all K-12 schools enacted through Oct. 1 was extended through at least Nov. 1 — with the qualifier that districts may consider lifting the mandate for vaccinated students and staff if the vaccination rate among both groups in an individual school building reaches 80 percent starting Oct. 15.

Under the new guidance, all unvaccinated students and staff would have to continue to wear a mask indoors regardless of the building-wide rate.

Vadala said he will provide vaccination data for students and staff at the next school committee meeting. But at Thursday's Peabody Board of Health meeting, Peabody Health Director Sharon Cameron said only 57 percent of city residents ages 12 to 15 and 67 percent of residents ages 16 to 19 were fully vaccinated.

"I will continue to say that this 80 percent vaccination rate is a red herring," Hochman said. "When we get the data, we're going to see that staff members in each building are probably below 80 percent. There are staff members who chose not to get vaccinated. And that's perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. People have a right to do what they want with their own body."

Vadala said staff vaccination levels will be determined through a self-attestation form. In neighboring Salem, the city has moved to require all school staff to provide proof of vaccination or be subject to twice-weekly coronavirus testing.

"Whether it be horrible laws that come out of the state of Texas or horrible decisions that come out of Malden, I'm tired of people being told by the government what they should be doing their bodies," Hochman continued. "The 80 percent vaccination is probably never going to be achieved in the high school, the middle school and certainly is incapable of being achieved at the elementary schools."

"So folks, if you're listening — and I hope there are many — plan on having your children wear masks for the duration of this school year, and perhaps beyond."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to give emergency-use authorization to vaccines for those 11 and younger.

The Peabody Board of Health voted Thursday night to back Cameron's recommendation to the school committee that all students continue to wear masks indoors at all public schools.

"Given the significant number of cases in our community at this point, many of which are among school-age children, I believe that masking continues to be an important strategy to minimize disruption to in-person learning opportunities for Peabody students," Cameron told Patch last Wednesday.

School Committee member Joseph Amico spoke of the virtues of vaccinations, according to information he provided from Johns Hopkins University, saying he wants students and staff to reach the threshold so the district can put away the masks as soon as possible.

"I want to get rid of these (masks) so hopefully people get vaccinated and we can move on from this terrible pandemic," he said.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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