MOKANE - The South Callaway R-2 School District will not require students or staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Superintendent Kevin Hillman announced during Wednesday's Board of Education meeting.
"I'm being told by legal counsel that we should not require it, that we should leave it as an option," he said. "We'll leave it up to the individual."
District employees will be notified when vaccines become available.
"Some of (them) will readily jump to take the vaccine, and some of them, no way," Hillman predicted.
This week, front-line health care workers in Missouri began receiving the state's first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer. Studies indicate the vaccine has 95 percent efficacy after two doses - meaning 95 percent fewer trial participants developed COVID-19 than would be expected in the general population. A second vaccine, produced by Moderna, is expected to be approved by the FDA soon; it reports a 94 percent efficacy.
One board member raised concerns the vaccine is unsafe for pregnant individuals; however, according to the CDC, that's unlikely to be true. Though little data is available on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for people who are pregnant, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA vaccines; they contain no live virus and are unable to interact with the recipient's DNA.
The CDC also notes pregnant people with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness and describes getting vaccinated as "a personal choice" for those who are pregnant.
Reduced quarantine
Following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the South Callaway district will reduce the required quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days for students and staff who meet certain criteria.
Quarantine is used to separate someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 and may develop illness away from other people. It helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they have the virus.
Currently, the CDC recommends a quarantine period of 14 days - a person exposed to COVID-19 might take that long to develop symptoms. However, in early December, the federal health authority released guidelines for a shortened quarantine period, describing it as an "acceptable alternative."
A student or staff member may leave quarantine in 10 days if they report no COVID-19 symptoms during daily monitoring. Should symptoms appear, the individual must isolate immediately, according to the district's policy, announced Dec. 11.
People who follow the 10-day quarantine requirements still have a 1-10 percent chance of transmitting the disease to someone after leaving quarantine, according to the CDC.
To address that risk, the school district requires that for an additional four days after the 10-day quarantine, the individual must continue to monitor for symptoms and wear a mask in public and at school. During that four-day period, they also won't be allowed to participate in high-contact activities during sports practices or in sports games against other schools.
Hillman said the Callaway County Health Department is on-board with South Callaway adopting that policy.
He said spending four fewer days in quarantine will result in "an astronomical number more days with students in class."
Other business
Hillman and Director of Maintenance Hal Dooley gave an update on planned improvements at various district buildings.
The middle school building is in particularly urgent need of tuck-pointing and other maintenance, Dooley said. Previous estimates for the work ranged from $620,000-$875,000.
"I think we'll beat that - we have contractors that are very hungry," he said.
Other less-urgent work, such as replacing tiles at the high school or resealing the track, will have to wait until next year.
Board members expected to hear the results of the district's annual audit Wednesday, but that was tabled until the January meeting.
"I was in conversation with the auditor yesterday, not sure if it'd be ready," Hillman said.
It's not uncommon for the audit to be finished at the last minute. But this year, the auditor got lucky.
"Just today, the state told districts they were giving a months' extension on the deadline; it's due Jan. 31," Hillman said.
According to Hillman, the auditor said it should be completed within a week, so board members should be able to review the audit's results at their next meeting.