Student safety goal of vaccine mandate




CAMPUS RULES—Unless exempt, all students and staff at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges who attend any on- or off-site class or service must be vaccinated by Oct. 15. Acorn file photo

The Ventura County Community College District board of trustees issued a vaccine mandate Aug. 11.

Unless exempt, all students and staff at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges who participate in person in any on- or off-site service will need a COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 15.

The Acorn spoke with district leaders to learn more about the board’s decision-making process and the details of the mandate.

“Throughout the pandemic, our priority has always been doing what we can to prevent COVID-19 transmission and to help protect the health and safety of our employees and students,” Chancellor Greg Gillespie said. “The vaccine mandate was an appropriate and important thing for us to do at this point in time to continue to be able to do that.”

Considerations

Although the district’s board of trustees did not vote on the mandate until Aug. 10, Gillespie said, members have been considering the idea since June; they wanted to see how the pandemic would progress and learn more about vaccine mandates before making a decision.

The rise of the Delta variant as well as other California mandates— including Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vaccine requirement for all state employees and school staff—helped solidify their decision, Gillespie said.

VCCCD was the third higher education institution in the county to issue a vaccine mandate, following announcements by Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and Cal State Channel Islands in Camarillo.

Dianne McKay, the board’s vice chair, explained in an email her reasoning for voting in favor of the mandate.

“A decision to mandate a new vaccine, or any health procedure for someone else, is never easy, but in this case I had to weigh the public good, specifically at our colleges, where student and employee safety is a priority,” McKay said. “All the trustees agreed it was something we had to do.”

Ultimately, Gillespie said, the board’s choice to unanimously approve the mandate was not a difficult one.

“It was, I would say, an easy decision when you look at the impact of the vaccine to be able to protect the health and safety of our students,” he said.

The chancellor said board members also wanted the district to take responsibility in minimizing the spread of COVID-19.

“Since we’re a public institution, we want to be doing our part in supporting the public health initiative and getting people vaccinated,” Gillespie said.

The district will continue requiring indoor mask use regardless of vaccination status, in accordance with Ventura County Public Health guidelines.

Exemptions

Those who choose to remain unvaccinated will be required to participate exclusively in online classes and virtual support services and may be subject to other safety measures, Gillespie said. About 65% of the classes across the three campuses are online.

Students and staff, however, can request an exemption on the basis of medical conditions or religious beliefs by completing a form, the chancellor said.

Medical exemptions, which he said can include pregnancy, must be completed and signed by a medical provider. Religious exemptions must include an explanation as well as additional comments from a clergy member or representative of the religious organization.

Those whose exemption requests are approved will be able to participate in in-person services, provided they wear a face mask and undergo weekly COVID-19 tests, Gillespie said.

For students and staff to prove that they have been fully vaccinated, they can upload a photo of their vaccine card to the MyVCCCD mobile app for verification by the district’s human resources department.

They can also communicate directly with HR personnel to get their vaccination status verified.

Feedback

The district has not received extensive feedback in response to the mandate.

While a small number of students have made it clear that they are not in favor of the vaccine, Gillespie said almost all of the feedback from staff has been positive.

“A lot of them understand that this is another measure that can help protect both employees and students from COVID-19,” he said.

A survey earlier this summer found that about 70% of the staff who responded were vaccinated, Gillespie said.

About 6,000 students and staff have verified their status as fully vaccinated through the app as of July 20, the chancellor said. The college district has about 31,000 students and about 2,000 staff members.

Leading up to Oct. 15, Gillespie said, the district will be promoting COVID-19 vaccinations and scheduling mobile vaccine clinics at each college campus.