Salem Public Schools Expands Student Coronavirus Vaccine Order

SALEM, MA — All vaccine-eligible Salem Public Schools students will have to show proof of a coronavirus vaccine first shot and a scheduled second shot to participate in any "high-respiration" extracurricular activity this winter.

The Salem School Committee on Monday voted 6-0 to expand what has to this point has been a vaccination-or-mask policy for sports, band, chorus, drama, and other similar extracurricular activities. The new order allows for limited exemptions for religious and medical reasons but will drop the outdoor mask option.

The vaccine order will take immediate effect as of Dec. 1 for all students ages 12 or older and will be expanded to include children as young as 5 years old once the vaccine is authorized for that age level.

The action was taken both to increase the safety of athletics, band, chorus and drama as more of those activities move inside during the winter, and also to further incentivize the age groups with low vaccination rates citywide.

"We do have a lot of opportunities to increase our protection as a community by increasing the uptake of the vaccine," Salem Public Schools Chief of Opportunity Chelsea Banks told the committee.

Superintendent Steve Zrike acknowledged to the committee that while the hope is the mandate will convince more athletes and other students to get the vaccine, it will also have the effect of driving away those who refuse to do so.

"There is concern that this policy would exclude some students who have been very clear that they will not get vaccinated," he allowed. "There are a series of students who, even with the extra push, may choose not to get vaccinated and will not be able to then participate.

"There is a concern for those students who have passion for sports or music, or any of those other high-respiration activities."

Zrike also noted that more family outreach was needed on vaccines since rates are lower among certain demographic groups in the city.

While this order will apply to Salem athletes, there will be no assurance that athletes from other schools they compete against will be vaccinated. Zrike said the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has not indicated it plans to put in place any coronavirus-related rule modifications or mitigation measures for the winter season.

The extracurricular order may be a precursor to a broader vaccine mandate within Salem Public Schools.

"We've been moving in this direction and we've been having these conversations," School Committee member Kristin Pangallo said. "I would like at the next meeting, if possible, to have the district prepare some information about how we could implement COVID-19 vaccination as one of the vaccines required for school attendance."

Currently, Amherst-Pelham is the only district in the state that plans to require vaccinations for all students to attend school.

School Committee member Amanda Campbell voted for the new mandate, but said she did not believe such a targeted order would have much effect on Salem's youth vaccination numbers, and also expressed support for a more wide-ranging requirement.

"I don't think it's going to have the uptick in vaccinations we are looking for," she said.

Banks said that 66 percent of Salem residents ages 12 to 15 are vaccinated, compared to 73 percent statewide, 82 percent in Beverly and 70 percent in Peabody. She said only 47 percent of residents ages 16 to 19 are vaccinated, compared to 72 percent statewide, 56 percent in Beverly and 75 percent in Peabody.

"My expectation is for our next meeting we'll have some further dialogue if there is any way to broaden that (order)," Salem Mayor and School Committee Chair KIm Driscoll said. "We've got vaccine hesitancy. We've got vaccine ambivalence, particularly among our teens. We need to really tackle that in a way that meets families where they are. But then also recognize that we can't live with these numbers.

"As our younger children become eligible — hopefully soon, in the next week and a half — we are just signing up for more trouble if we can't get past this range of 60 percent.

"We need to put the full-court press on."

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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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