The students

It was agreed that staff should be vaccinated, but the same was said for students. While there is no mandate or rule requiring students to get vaccinated, it would be the ultimate step needed to keep everyone safe and healthy.

There are already vaccine requirements for Washington students and staff to attend public schools, including immunization for chickenpox, polio, tetanus, and more. Having a Covid-19 vaccination requirement would be similar. 

Even so, there are still many teenagers today refusing the vaccine. Some believe they’re safe from Covid-19 because they’re young, or they assume as long as some people get it, then not everyone needs to. Either way, their apathy puts others at risk because no one is completely safe. There’s always a risk even with preventative measures, but it’s wholly better to take every measure–including vaccinations–than relying on others to take precautions for you.

Of course, that’s not to say that students who don’t get the vaccine are inherently bad people. Often, teenagers can’t get it due to parent restrictions. However, attending school in person while unvaccinated is still risky, and staying home to learn remotely is the safer option.