SUFFOLK, Va. — Suffolk Public Schools students who want to play sports or participate in extracurricular activities will have to take some extra precautions this year.
The school division is the first to require all middle and high school students eligible for the Pfizer vaccine to get vaccinated or be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis to participate in those activities.
Suffolk's school board voted six to one for the policy during Thursday's meeting. This new policy does not currently apply to students 11 years old or younger.
Suffolk Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. John Gordon, said if you don't want to get vaccinated, you can do weekly COVID-19 testing before participating in any groups. However, he said there may still be more options for any student who doesn't want to be vaccinated or tested weekly.
"For extracurricular activities such as clubs, there may be a virtual option. We're going to look into that," Gordon said in the meeting. "But I do have to remind the board and the public that playing sports or extracurriculars that we strongly encourage because it helps keep kids engaged."
Suffolk Public Schools has reported 31 total cases of COVID-19 within the school system over the past month. Those numbers are what Superintendent Gordon said he doesn't want to see grow, later this year.
He said he wants students to get vaccinated ahead of the winter sports season, after one high school's football team recently had several members test positive for COVID-19.
"We got to think about the teams, as well as when those student athletes, or those involved in extracurricular activities, who then go to class for seven periods a day," said Gordon. "That could be a potential exposure to other students."
The board said the deadline for students to get vaccinated is Nov. 12.
Members said they are working on holding a clinic in the schools during the month of October.