The school nurse said she is pleased by the news that a Covid-19 vaccine has been approved and that distribution has begun. The first doses will go to health care workers and long-term care facility residents.

Mrs. Marianne Vogt ’83 said she will take the vaccine as soon as it is available and she is eligible to do so. She wrote in an email, “It will be mandatory for me to take the vaccine as an essential worker. I would take it even if it was not required. Vaccines rarely cause significant side effects. The risk of serious side effects from Covid is much worse. Everything has risks, but you have to outweigh the risks of Covid vs the risks of the vaccine and make your decision.”

Vogt said as if now that it is unlikely the school would be involved in administering the vaccine. She said, “At this point, due to the refrigeration needs of the vaccine, that would be unlikely, but eventually it could be like the flu vaccine where we can offer at school.”

Vogt said full trials on children under age 16 have not begun yet, so it will be awhile before the risks and benefits to administering the vaccine to younger high school students are known.

However, in the future, the vaccine will most likely be required for school, similar to other vaccines. Vogt said, “Religious or medical exemptions are the only reasons people can get excused from vaccines. Most colleges require vaccines and do not allow for exemptions. They have asked that people who have had precious reactions to vaccines not to get this vaccine until further testing has been completed.”