Milwaukee Public Schools To Mandate Vaccines For Employees

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Public Schools board voted unanimously Thursday to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees, except for those with religious or medical exemptions.

All certified staff, part-time staff, school leadership, interns, student teachers and volunteers will have to be vaccinated by Nov. 1, the board said.

Students aren't required to get vaccinated but are still eligible for a $100 incentive from the state if they get vaccinated in Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota before Sept. 19, the board said.

The district has a duty to provide a healthy and safe learning and work environment for its students and staff, the board said. Vaccination remains the most effective method of reducing the spread of COVID-19, both school and health officials have said.

Employees who don't get vaccinated by Nov. 1 will face unpaid leave. If employees continue without a vaccination, the district may fire them.

The decision came amid an uptick of COVID-19 cases among students and staff across the district's 158 schools. Between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, the district reported 115 new positive cases among students and 35 new positive cases among staff.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced on Aug. 24 that the city's general employees would have to be vaccinated starting Sept. 1.

The state broke its seven-day case average record with 1,584 cases per day in late August, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported. The last time the seven-day average was that high was January.

There were about 252,000 new positive cases among children in the U.S. in early September, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported. For the week ending Sept. 2, children made up almost 27 percent of the country's weekly COVID-19 cases, including in Puerto Rico and Guam.

Five million children in the U.S. have tested positive since the pandemic started, the academy reported. Children made up 15.1 percent of the country's cumulative cases as well.

See Also: Milwaukee City Employees Required To Get Vaccinated: Mayor

Wisconsin COVID-19 Case Average Highest Since January