Xinxin Fang ‘24
The rapid spread of the Omicron Covid Variant and data demonstrating the ineffectiveness of vaccines over time has health experts advocating for the public to get the vaccine booster, which as of now is approved for people ages 12 and up. Because students in Episcopal’s Middle and Upper Schools are eligible for booster shots, the EA masking policy could potentially change in the near future, moving towards a “mask-optional protocol if the case counts lighten up and transmission decreases,” according to Laura Hurst, Director of Health Services at EA.
Photo courtesy of Fiona Riley ’22
In August, a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed vaccine effectiveness waning. According to Yale Medicine, data from the state of New York displayed a decrease of vaccine effectiveness from 91.8% to 75%, contributing to the CDC’s decision to make booster shots available in late 2021.
On January 5th, 2022, the CDC authorized the expansion of the eligibility of booster shots for children who are between 12 and 15 years of age, making it available to students in the Middle and Upper School. Because EA follows the CDC’s guidelines and “[the CDC] recommends getting booster shots, we advise students to do so as well,” says Hurst.
However, EA does not plan to offer booster vaccinations as they did in the spring of 2021. Hurst explains, “The reason that we did that in the past was because sometimes the vaccine was hard to get, but right now vaccines are easy to come by. [People can get them in] doctors’ offices and pharmacies. Basically, there’s not the wait or the delay for people getting it, so we have no plans to host another vaccine clinic.”
“A booster shot is meant to increase levels of immune responses after these have naturally waned” says Jonathan Abraham, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School and an Infectious Disease Specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in an interview with The Harvard Gazette. He asserts that “a booster tricks the immune system into thinking that it is again seeing a pathogen, so antibody-producing cells, and other immune cells, are recalled into gear. The quantity and quality of antibodies that are produced can increase.” However, given Covid’s astonishing capability for mutation, shown by the Delta and Omicron variants, Abraham speculates that “we will need periodic boosters for the next few years.”
The rise of the Omicron variant brings to light the masking policy at EA and other schools in Pennsylvania. As reported by ABC 27 News, the PA school mask mandate imposed by Governor Tom Wolf in the early Fall of 2021 was overturned by the PA Supreme Court on December 9, 2021, ruling that the masking mandate was unconstitutional because it had been imposed by Wolf’s health secretary without following the correct protocol.
Due to this verdict, EA’s decision on masks continues to depend on Dr. TJ Locke, Head of School, and the administration. Hurst says, “With the recent surge in Covid cases, EA will most likely go mask optional rather than maskless. Dr. Locke and the administration will make the final decision while considering input from others.”
Some members of the community want to go mask-option or maskless but recognize the greater importance of safety. Dawson French ‘24 comments, “I would prefer to go mask optional but, due to current health and safety regulations, it’s not the best idea. It’s possible once we get to a point where Covid spreading is minimal, but we’re currently not in the right place to do it.”
On the other hand, Maya Gambhir ‘22 believes, “I think going mask optional is kind of an inevitable development in the process of the pandemic because it has to end eventually. So long as enough of the younger kids are boosted and cases are within a reasonable range, it would be a logical place to make that step.”