DC delays COVID-19 vaccine requirement for college students till 2023-24 faculty 12 months

City lawmakers voted on Tuesday to delay the enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for college students in Washington, D.C., pushing off the mandate till subsequent faculty 12 months.

The vote is the second time the D.C. Council has delayed the vaccine requirement for colleges since passing an order in December 2021 that mandated all college students 12 years and older should be vaccinated towards COVID-19 in an effort to attend in-person courses. The laws initially required college students to indicate proof of vaccination inside 20 days of the start of the college 12 months, however lawmakers later pushed that again to Jan. 3, 2023, because of sluggish compliance.

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“We should make coverage as realists, and the fact of the scenario is that the data vacuum created by the pandemic additionally created alternatives for falsehoods to flourish,” mentioned Councilmember Christina Henderson, who initially authored the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. “We have now to fulfill individuals the place they're, and many individuals nonetheless aren’t prepared to just accept this explicit therapy. We additionally don’t need to exclude college students from the classroom … after working so arduous to get them again into faculty in individual.”

Now the vaccine mandate just isn't set to be enforced till the 2023-24 faculty 12 months, lawmakers introduced Tuesday. Within the meantime, the councilmembers who initially launched the coed vaccine mandate mentioned they might be reviewing the laws after expressing second ideas.

“We went too far in requiring the mandate,” mentioned Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who co-introduced the laws with Henderson final 12 months.

Henderson indicated final month she would search to delay the vaccine requirement, conceding a lot has modified about what lawmakers know in regards to the coronavirus since introducing the laws final 12 months. For instance, D.C. Well being officers have questioned whether or not COVID-19 vaccines needs to be made obligatory or if colleges ought to solely encourage the pictures in the identical approach they do flu pictures.

Some councilmembers pushed again on the delay, arguing one other postponement would additional erode compliance.

“By extending the deadline as soon as once more, we're jeopardizing our potential to implement different vaccine mandates down the road, and we're unintentionally feeding into vaccine misinformation that they aren't efficient,” mentioned Councilmember Brooke Pinto.

Households have already been sluggish to adjust to the vaccine mandate, with roughly 44% of scholars in conventional public colleges within the district nonetheless unvaccinated towards COVID-19, Henderson mentioned on Tuesday. That quantity was at 45% in September.

The way forward for the mandate is unclear, as Mendelson recommended on Tuesday that the council may get rid of the laws altogether.

“[The mandate] appeared like one thing that might be picked up throughout the nation,” he mentioned. “We appeared to be in step and following the science. A 12 months later, and the place is the science? The CDC web site doesn't say a mandate is what they suggest. The pandemic is evolving into extra of an endemic.”