To the editor:

I’ll be interested to hear how Megan Douglas and this article “Vaccine mandate, booster shots, and lawsuits” didn’t get it wrong. 

To say the boosters are not mandated is in direct conflict with BPS documented policy published at the time of the teachers being put on unpaid leave and the Barrington School Committee (minus Patrick McCrann) voting to terminate their employment. In Barrington’s GENERAL AND INTERIM EMERGENCY POLICY ON COVID-19 RELATED ISSUES (2021-2022 School Year), which is the policy the School Committee used to vote for firing the teachers, it clearly states:

“1. All employees must be fully vaccinated by no later than November 1, 2021, subject to certain exemptions to be implemented in accordance with federal and state law;

“2. All employees must obtain and receive a ‘booster’ vaccine when eligible;”

I specifically asked at Thursday’s (12/9) SC meeting where the proof is that “all employees” have received boosters, and if they haven’t, is their employment also subject to termination [as it is for teachers exercising religious rights]?” 

My comment’s conclusion should have been, “And if they have NOT received eligible boosters and are NOT subject to termination, WHY not? Because at that point, the only difference in this matter between an eligible, un-boostered employee and the fired teachers appears to be religion, and that indicates discrimination to me.”

My point is not to “out” any employees who have not received eligible boosters. My point is that NOBODY should be at risk of having their private medical data made public for ANY reason. We don’t demand this of any other aspect of health and it is a wildly disproportionate response to a relatively smaller problem at hand — particularly when there are known cases of teachers spreading the virus in school, (as this paper has reported on. See “Parent questions Barrington’s mandate, says vaccinated teachers are testing positive” Dec 10, 2021).

Therefore, I would like to know the precise number of “all employees” in BPS compared to the precise number of vaccine cards submitted showing proof of eligible boosters. In fact I want to see digital images (names redacted) of every single employee vaccine card to date.

Thank you,

Ellen Schaffer

Barrington