Should schools require the COVID-19 vaccine? Here’s what experts say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It’s very possible that Orange County K-12 students will have the option of leaving their masks at home when school starts in August.

But with COVID-19 cases increasing every day, and the delta variant taking over, Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino said he thinks the urgency of the situation might require schools and colleges to take a second look at making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory.

READ: Orlando offering mobile COVID-19 vaccine events to increase vaccination rates before school starts

Parent Jennifer Dotson said it makes no sense to require so many other vaccines in schools, but not the one that can save lives and get us out of the pandemic.

Shots for things like polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis B are already required. Some colleges also require the HPV shot, the meningitis shot and even the flu shot.

Health leaders say community spread should dictate what school leaders decide to do.

READ: Delta variant: 5 things to know about the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the US

“We believe that if we can get the background rates in the communities down through vaccination and social distancing and those sorts of things, that the schools will be safe,” said Dr. Steven Smith with AdventHealth.

Smith said a mask-optional plan for the classroom is reasonable and rational for now, but if background rates start going up, he added, things could change.

READ: Concerns mount over coronavirus cases in Orange County as new school year looms

Dotson said she knows all parents want their children to be safe at school, so she can’t understand the divide on requiring vaccinations and masks.

“I don’t understand what’s happening in our world,” Dotson said. “We don’t have empathy for people anymore. A lot of people don’t, and it just hurts my heart.”

READ: Orange County officials concerned about recent uptick in COVID-19 cases

Decisions for requiring vaccines, like the COVID-19 shot, are made on a state level.

Channel 9 reached out to the state’s department of education to see if it was considering a requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine, but has not heard back.