Martinez: My San Antonio District Is Requiring All School Staff To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine. Yours Should, Too

Martinez: My San Antonio District Is Requiring All School Staff to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine. Yours Should, Too

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COVID rates are once again increasing as students return to the classroom following two disrupted school years due to shutdowns and disrupted learning. It is crucial that America’s children do not endure a third year of isolation at home and remote schooling. We must ensure that schools remain open, operating at full capacity, five days a week. That’s why, as the superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District in Texas, I have made it mandatory for all staff members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and I strongly urge other school systems to do the same.

The Pfizer vaccine has obtained full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, confirming its safety and effectiveness. Extensive clinical trial data and other evidence were thoroughly reviewed by scientific and medical experts, providing unprecedented levels of information to determine the vaccine’s safety. The data showed that the Pfizer vaccine demonstrated a 91 percent effectiveness in preventing COVID-19. It is our responsibility to ourselves and others to get vaccinated.

Getting vaccinated saves lives, helps maintain the operation of schools, and is the key to finally ending this pandemic.

In my district, 90 percent of the staff members have already received the vaccine. We have established vaccination clinics at all major high schools for employees and their families. Students and parents are actively participating in our outreach efforts and have provided videos sharing their vaccination experiences. Additionally, we have partnered with local doctors to address any questions or concerns people may have.

This is the expectation and demand of my community. Families have made it clear that schools must remain open this year, and the district must utilize all available tools to safeguard health and ensure stable classrooms. These tools include not only vaccination but also adhering to health measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as wearing masks and implementing regular COVID testing. These measures were effective in preventing the spread of the virus in our schools last year and continue to make a difference this year. While the positivity rate in Bexar County has reached 20 percent, it remains below 2 percent in our schools.

As demonstrated in San Antonio, there is widespread support across the nation for mandating the vaccination of teachers. The U.S. military, some of the largest employers in the country, and numerous colleges and universities have already implemented such mandates. States like California, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington have also instituted vaccine mandates for educators and select other workers. More and more leaders are recognizing the necessity of vaccination in overcoming the COVID crisis and initiating the recovery process.

As the chairman of Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan network consisting of school superintendents and state education commissioners who collectively serve one-third of all children in the United States, I am well aware of the immense COVID-related challenges educators continue to face in their communities, even 18 months into the pandemic. The school year has just begun, and already educators are struggling to provide food to students and secure transportation, as many food service workers and bus drivers are under quarantine.

In certain states, like Arizona, the governor intends to withhold federal relief funds from school districts that implement mask mandates. Florida is withholding salaries from school board members in districts with mask mandates. In Texas, the attorney general filed a lawsuit against me and my district over our vaccine mandate, although the lawsuit has since been dropped. Unfortunately, some politicians prioritize their own interests and engage in political posturing at the expense of students and families. Recently, the governor issued a new executive order maintaining his ban on vaccine mandates for school district staff, despite the full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine.

Now is not the time for political games. I urge my fellow educators to stand firm against partisan interests and intimidation and simply do what is right for the children. The devastating impacts of the pandemic are visible to everyone, and we all understand the urgent need for students to receive quality education and support in schools.

To ensure that schools can remain open, several K-12 systems, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Antonio, are implementing staff vaccine mandates. For the sake of our nation, I hope that all districts will follow suit. The safe and effective vaccine provides us with a way out of this pandemic. Let us not lose sight of that. Each of us must fulfill our part by getting vaccinated and adhering to the health guidance that we know works. Unless everyone eligible is vaccinated, students will not experience a successful academic year. Requiring the vaccine in schools is simply the logical course of action.

Pedro Martinez serves as the superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District and serves as the chairman of Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan network of education leaders from districts and states.

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