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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

MUNICIPAL ELECTION 2021

There are five candidates for the office of school board member: Democrats Paul Dorney and Rebecca A. Glenister; Christopher Freas and Laura McKelvey are running on the Democrat/Republican ballot and Joseph D. Gnall is on the Republican ballot. Voters will choose four.

Issues

Once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved for all children, should that be added to the required vaccines needed to attend school? Should all staff be required to be vaccinated? Please explain.

Democrat Paul Dorney I support mandatory vaccination for employees for the safety of our children. The SCOTUS ruling (1905) affirming mandatory vaccinations Justice Marshall clarified, “A person's right to a healthy life is greater than another person's right to a specific job.” This is necessary to keep our schools open, families safe and children healthy. The remote instructional model did not work for many students. We need to keep our schools open so our children can benefit from in person instruction and hands-on learning. PADOH requires many vaccines; I would not require students to be immunized until it becomes a requirement. It is a parental decision.
Democrat Rebecca A. Glenister My position continues to be to follow the advice of local and national medical experts. If approved by the FDA, representing the consensus of national health experts, I see no reason not to add this vaccine to the list of 18 already-required vaccines for the health and safety of both students and staff.
Democrat/ Republican Christopher Freas
Democrat/ Republican Laura McKelvey
Republican Joseph D. Gnall Choosing whether to vaccinate or not is obviously a very polarized topic. While I do believe that vaccinations are one of the best tools we can use to stem the spread of COVID-19, I do not believe it is the place of the School District to make vaccinations for students or teachers compulsory. If that decision were to be made, it should be by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the health care professionals within it. I would support any decision regarding vaccines that is based on scientific evidence from the appropriate health care professionals.