Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Hello MHS Families,
Starting March 31, 2021 students ages 16 and 17 are eligible to register to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Students ages 18 and above are eligible to register to receive the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. At this time, COVID-19 vaccinations are NOT a required school immunization by the Indiana State Department of Health. The choice to have your student, age 16 and older, vaccinated is the decision of each family. The purpose of the information below is to answer commonly asked questions on how the vaccine impacts school, and to provide resources for families who want to learn more or who wish to register for a vaccine. If you have specific questions regarding the vaccine itself please contact your healthcare provider.
School Related Vaccination Common Questions
Q: Will my student need to quarantine if they are a close contact to a positive COVID-19 individual once they are fully vaccinated?
A: No, once you are fully vaccinated (two weeks after both vaccine doses have been administered) you will not need to quarantine if you are a close contact as long as you don’t develop symptoms. You should continue to monitor for symptoms if exposed. At this time, it is undermined how long a fully vaccinated person would not need to quarantine if exposed.
Q: Will my student’s absence be excused if they go to get vaccinated during the school day?
A: Yes, your student’s absence will be marked as excused for the time frame your student is absent to receive their vaccine. You will be asked to provide proof of appointment or to show your student’s CDC Vaccination Card upon return to school.
Q: Should my student quarantine if they have any side effects from the vaccine?
A: Many people will have no side effects, but some may experience pain/swelling at the injection site, headache, tiredness, nausea, body aches, chills, or a fever. Students who experience these symptoms within 72 hours of receiving their vaccine are free to continue coming to school and do not need to quarantine. We do ask any individual who is running a fever of 100.0 degrees or higher to follow district policy and stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours. It is not expected that students would have side effects such as loss of taste, loss of smell, congestion, or other respiratory symptoms after being vaccinated. If any of these symptoms arise, we ask that your student stay home and normal COVID protocol is followed (testing, cleared by doctor, or isolate for 10 days).
Q: Will my student still have to wear a mask at school after being vaccinated?
A: Effective April 5, 2021 the mask mandate in Indiana will be moved to a mask advisory with the exception of several buildings, including schools, for the duration of the 2020-2021 school year. The MSD of Martinsville will require all individuals, even when vaccinated, to continue wearing masks indoors for the remainder of the school year when they are not eating/drinking or participating in strenuous activity in compliance with Governor Holcomb’s executive order. The CDC does state that fully vaccinated individuals are safe to gather indoors with other fully vaccinated individuals or indoors with one other household who is unvaccinated while not wearing masks.
Q: Will the MSD of Martinsville eventually require students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
A: The Indiana General Assembly grants the Indiana Department of Health the sole power to determine required and recommended immunizations for children attending K-12 schools (IC 20-34-4-2). The MSD of Martinsville does not have the legal authority to add or delete immunizations from the Indiana Department of Health’s required or recommended immunization list. As with all school immunizations, Indiana law does allow for medical (IC 20-34-3-3) and religious (IC 20-34-3-2) exemptions. Currently, there has been no information provided on if the COVID-19 vaccine will be added as either a required or recommended vaccine for the 2021-2022 school year by the Indiana Department of Health.
Where to Register
IN Vaccine Waitroom: https://vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov/
Kroger: https://www.kroger.com/rx/covid-eligibility
Meijer: https://clinic.meijer.com/
CVS: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
COVID-19 Information
COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics by County: https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/Indiana%20clinics%20by%20county.pdf
CDC Vaccine Information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html
Indiana State Department of Health Teen Vaccination Fact Sheet: https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/21_Teen%20vaccine%20fact%20sheet_3.24.pdf
American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Vaccine: Frequently Asked Questions:
https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/covid-19-vaccine-frequently-asked-questions/
Respectfully,
Audrey Jackson
Director of Student Services
MSD of Martinsville
Jayne Burke
Director of Community Relations
MSD of Martinsville
