Families protest pending student vaccine mandate at Sonoma County education office

Jessica West held no sign as she stood alongside Airport Boulevard late Monday morning, but she was willing to share her message when asked.

“These are our children, we’re here to protect them,“ the mother of three said, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of car horns blaring as passing drivers responded to the assembly of sign- and flag-carrying families lining either side of the road.

"No vaccine has ever been so chaotic and controversial and divisive,“ she said. ”You get shut down for asking questions.“

West was one of around 200 parents and children who headed to the Sonoma County Office of Education Monday morning to protest a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate expected to take effect for students sometime next year.

The 10 a.m. demonstration came as an unknown number of families across the county also kept their children out of the classroom Monday, joining a statewide protest against the pending mandate. Santa Rosa City Schools, Sonoma County’s largest school district, reported seeing no noticeable uptick in absences Monday.

In front of the education office property in Santa Rosa, demonstrators held signs blasting the mandate. Others waved flags, including the Gadsden flag with the familiar “Don’t tread on me” slogan and serpent.

“Medical freedom NOT force,” read one of the signs. "Too soon to mandate,“ read another.

Steve Herrington, Sonoma County’s superintendent of schools, said he didn’t dispute parents’ right to protest the mandate. But he expressed dismay about the part of Monday’s dissent that involved keeping students out of school.

“My advocacy is that children should be in school,” Herrington said Monday in an interview, reiterating a written message he’d sent to Friday to the wider school community.

He emphasized the importance of daily attendance, especially in light of the many school days Sonoma County students have missed in the past four years due to natural disasters and their residual effects, in addition to, this year, having to quarantine at home.

“We have great learning loss to make up,” he said.

Oct. 15 was the state-imposed deadline for California school staff, volunteers and contractors to present proof of vaccination. In Sonoma County, that deadline passed three weeks earlier, on Sept. 24.

Since then, staff who have stated they are unvaccinated or who have not revealed their status have had to undergo a weekly rhythm of COVID-19 testing.

When schools impose the student mandate next year, though, the staff mandate also becomes more restrictive. The option to test will be eliminated.

California students will be required to present their schools with proof of vaccination only after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants full approval to the vaccine for the age group they fall in, and then only at the start of whatever academic term follows the full approval.

It’s likely, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, that the mandate won’t affect students until the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

“However, local health jurisdictions and local education agencies are encouraged to implement requirements ahead of a statewide requirement based on their local circumstances,” an Oct. 1 news release said.

To date, no Sonoma County school district has imposed a student COVID-19 vaccine requirement of its own, nor has Sonoma County’s public health division.

More than 71% of Sonoma County’s 12 to 17 year-olds have been vaccinated against the coronavirus since the vaccine was granted emergency approval for use in children as young as 12 in May. Emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccines for children age 5 through 11 is expected to come in November.

Sonoma County’s public enrollment tops 66,000 students. The vaccine requirement also applies to private schools.

For now, the option remains for families to pursue a medical or a religious/personal belief exemption. But that’s little comfort to parents like West, who said she’s seen professionals in other fields have trouble securing the exemptions.

“I don’t think they’re allowing it as they’re portraying it,” she said.

Her children have received other vaccinations. The COVID-19 vaccine stands apart for her, however.

"We just want to be able to choose for our children what is put into their bodies and be able to research it and not be a part of the research as it’s going on,“ West said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affirm all the COVID-19 vaccines that have received FDA emergency approval have gone through all three required phases of clinical trials and met the FDA’s safety and effectiveness standards.

Local health professionals, including Dr. Sundari Mase, the Sonoma County health officer, also have repeatedly stressed that the vaccine is safe for children in authorized age groups and adults.

Side effects from vaccines generally happen within six weeks of receiving a dose, according to the CDC webpage on COVID vaccine safety.

“For this reason, the FDA required each of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines to be studied for at least two months (eight weeks) after the final dose,” the website reads. “Millions of people have received COVID-19 vaccines, and no long-term side effects have been detected.”

But concerns abound. Amber C. Dodd, 20, who joined the ranks of protesters Monday, said she hears from friends with neurological conditions who worry the vaccine will exacerbate tics from Tourette Syndrome, for example.

Neurological effects are not among the adverse events linked to the vaccine the CDC has addressed due to frequent concerns.

Dodd was encouraged by the size of Monday’s turnout and the positive response from passing drivers.

“I think that’s so important to fight for what we believe in,” she said. “If we don’t feel like there’s something right and we feel like we’re being pressed to take something we don’t necessarily believe in, I think we should fight for what we think is right.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.