School employees must be vaccinated against COVID

All Fairfax County Public Schools employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to routine negative COVID tests by late October, FCPS announced Aug. 20. 

“Vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prevent severe illness, FCPS state. “We must take every measure possible to keep our schools safe.”

The vaccine requirement is being implemented for these reasons, FCPS states: 

• “To keep our commitment to provide students with five days a week of in-person instruction this year.”
• “To give employees the peace of mind that comes with knowing their workplace is a safe place.” 
• “To reassure FCPS students and families they are learning in the safest environment possible.” 
• “To lead by example. FCPS continues to promote vaccination for everyone, including our students, as soon as they are eligible.”

Related story: FCPS says students will be safe in school despite Delta COVID variant

FCPS urges unvaccinated employees to make an appointment for a free vaccine through the Fairfax County Health Department or Vaccines.gov. 

Following the announcement, school board member Karl Frisch (Providence) said FCPS made the right decision. “To keep our students safe and our schools running smoothly, it is critical that everyone in our community who is eligible gets vaccinated – not only our educators and school employees. That is how we will ultimately put this pandemic behind us.”

As of Aug. 19, 77.7 percent of Fairfax Health District residents age 18 and older and 65.6 percent of residents age 12 and older have received at least one COVID-19 dose. Nearly 71 percent of adults and 59.2 percent of all residents are fully vaccinated.