Grafton schools may not meet state’s immunization criteria to unmask

Masks will likely stay in place at Grafton middle and high schools due to vaccination rates below the 80 percent recommended by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s revised mask mandate policy.

While the schools were still collecting data as of Friday, Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings noted on the Grafton Public Schools’ Facebook page that Grafton High has a vaccination rate of 73 percent while Grafton Middle School is at 70 percent, according to data collected by nurses at the schools.

“We have two ways to access vaccination information for individual students,” Cummings wrote. “Many students go to a pediatrician for their vaccine. Many pediatricians use the MIIS (Mass. Immunization Information System) to enter child-specific information regarding vaccinations. Our nurses have access to this system and can see if a student is vaccinated. We also have had parents send our nurses proof of vaccination for their child. 

“Our nurses at GHS and GMS then individually contacted the parents of every student we did not have any vaccination information on,” he added. “I am incredibly thankful to our nurses for their efforts and I could not be more confident in the information that they have collected.”

Cummings had given staff until the end of the week to submit their vaccination information, which will likely be reported to the School Committee during their meeting on Tuesday.

The update comes as CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines in certain populations. 

“These recommendations are another example of our fundamental commitment to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19,” Walensky said. “The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe – as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant.”

For individuals who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the following groups are eligible for a booster shot at 6 months or more after their initial series: 

• 65 years and older 
• Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings 
• Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions 
• Age 18+ who work or live in high-risk settings
  
  For the nearly 15 million people who got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, booster shots are also recommended for those who are 18 and older and who were vaccinated two or more months ago. 

There are now booster recommendations for all three available COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type that they originally received and others, may prefer to get a different booster. CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots.