New health protocols call for COVID-19 vaccine card to become a new form of I.D. photo courtesy of The Texas Tribune.
As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, new conditions regarding vaccination requirements come with it.
For the first time in over a year and a half, normality is on the horizon; however, this warrants necessary safety measures, the most controversial of which is proof of vaccination. People planning on attending any sort of large event have likely been informed about new protocols where, in some cases, visitors have to show a vaccination card in order to enter a venue. Some Colorado music venues that currently require proof of vaccination include Mission Ballroom, Fiddlers’s Green, and Ogden Theatre, while other venues, such as Red Rocks and Ball Arena, leave it up to the performing artist whether or not they want to require proof of full vaccination. Music venues are not the only places that have begun requiring proof of vaccination for entry; many restaurants and Colorado event centers have also started integrating these new protocols.
Needing to carry vaccination cards may seem troublesome at first, but with the new MyColoradoID app, Coloradans can now store a digital copy of their vaccine record right on a mobile device. However, guests can also show proof of vaccination through a picture of their vaccine card or the actual physical copy. In lieu of attendees not receiving a vaccine at all, many venues allow for proof of a negative covid test at least 72 hours prior to the show, and some even provide rapid covid tests right outside a specific event.
While these new requirements are still somewhat new, many are left wondering whether these regulations may make their way into public schools, especially high schools, where all students are of age to get vaccinated. Although requiring vaccinations for students to enter school is not unfamiliar (DPS requires students be vaccinated against Hepatitis B, Tetanus, Chickenpox, Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV), Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)), as of right now, there are no rules surrounding the covid vaccine for students. Teachers and staff, however, were required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 30th. Denver Public School (DPS) employees who do not fulfill this requirement “will not be permitted to work onsite or in the field,” as stated in a press release from the mayor’s office.
The potential requirement of the COVID-19 vaccine for students in DPS is an idea appreciated across the staff at Thomas Jefferson High School. However, Erin Thompson, a counselor at TJ, has not yet “heard of what they’re going to do with vaccination requirements for any grade level.” Even if schools were to begin requiring students to become vaccinated against COVID-19, there’s still the possibility that students or their parents would refuse to, but Thompson mentions that this disagreement is already happening with current vaccination requirements. “You can’t just refuse not to get [vaccinated], there [would have] to be a religious exemption or something of that nature that goes with it that exempts you from it.” While required COVID-19 vaccinations might be a ways away, there is still the possibility that school events begin checking for proof of vaccination or requiring negative COVID-19 tests in order for students to attend as an extra precaution towards keeping schools open and safe.
Regardless of whether or not schools begin implementing vaccine requirements, Thompson makes it clear that schools will continue prioritizing the health and safety of their students by conducting contact tracing systems to keep COVID-19 out of schools, on top of continuing to require students to wear masks and stay socially distanced as much as possible.
