San Francisco Unified School District is requiring staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 7

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Sri Ravipati

(SAN FRANCISCO) The San Francisco Unified School District on Tuesday announced that starting next month, all 10,000 of the district's staff will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing.

“As we move to a full return to in-person learning on August 16, we are doing so with all of the current health and safety requirements in place,” said Superintendent Vincent Matthews in the announcement. “Given that we are in the midst of rising cases and new variants in our community, a vaccine requirement is a necessary step to keeping our students, staff and families safe."

The new vaccine mandate for district staff is effective Sept. 7. The district is asking employees to submit their proof of vaccination by Aug. 31. More than half have submitted their status thus far.

United Educators of San Francisco, a union representing more than 6,200 San Francisco Unified School District employees, supports the district's decision.

It is unknown how long weekly testing will be available for unvaccinated employees, drawing criticism from some San Franciscans.

SFUSD’s vaccine mandate does not apply to students.

However, regardless of vaccination status, both staff and students are subject to indoor mask mandates in accordance with the citywide health order that went into effect last week.

SFUSD joins the City of San Francisco and many private employers citywide that have implemented a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

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