MCSD: Vaccinated students won’t have to quarantine if deemed viral close contact

To be eligible for the exemption, students must show proof of shots

LEWISTOWN -- Mifflin County School District students who are willing and able to prove they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 won't have to quarantine if deemed a close contact of someone who has tested positive for the virus, according to a letter from interim chief operations officer Paul J. Maidens sent to parents Thursday via the district's Skylert messaging system.

According to the letter, fully-vaccinated students who wish to be exempt from quarantine due to contact tracing must provide proof of vaccination to the school nurse at their specific school building.

Maidens said nurses will enter vaccination information into the Skyward system, which will only be shared with administration for the purpose of contact tracing if it becomes necessary. Nurses will return vaccination cards to students once their status has been verified. Scanned, mailed or faxed copies of vaccination cards are also acceptable, according to the letter.

MCSD considers a student to be fully vaccinated if at least 14 days have elapsed from that student receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, or 14 days have elapsed from that student receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use in children age 12 or older, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only approved for those age 18 or older. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is a two-dose vaccine with doses given 21 days apart. The Moderna vaccine is a two-dose vaccine with doses given 28 days apart.

The school district said it is optional for students and/or parents to share students' vaccination status, but any student who has not provided sufficient proof of vaccination -- including unvaccinated students, partially-vaccinated students and fully-vaccinated students who haven't yet provided documentation -- will be subject to a quarantine period if deemed a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Maidens said the Pennsylvania Department of Health is requiring public school districts to perform contact tracing for all COVID-19 cases within their schools during the 2021-2022 school year.

The first scheduled day of classes for MCSD students is Sept. 7.