New guidance from the Department of Health clarifies Gov. Jay Inslee’s August 18 proclamation applying the vaccine mandate to state employees, health care workers, and workers in “education settings.” The guidance says that the proclamation
is not intended to impact most local parks and recreation programs unless those programs are providing childcare or other in-person basic supports for children.
As we wrote last week, under the Governor’s vaccine mandate, workers in “education settings,” which include
childcare and youth programs, are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by October 18. This may impact workers in some youth development programs at city parks and recreation departments. The proclamation itself says that early learning and childcare programs, including license-exempt youth development programs, are included as “education settings,” and those workers must get vaccinated. The proclamation even uses “municipal parks
& recreation programs” as an example of a covered program.
However, new guidance from the Department of Health suggests that many parks and recreation programs will not be required to follow
the state vaccine mandate because they are not considered “childcare.” Workers in local “youth enrichment activities” like sports, overnight camps, scouts, driving instruction, youth fitness classes, guided outdoor recreation
and lessons (like skiing, golf, swimming, etc.) and similar activities do not typically serve a primarily childcare function, so workers in those types of programs are not subject to the state vaccine mandate. The guidance goes on to specifically
say that the proclamation “is not intended to impact the services and activities offered by local parks and recreation departments… except when those entities are providing childcare, including licensed and unlicensed care, and other
in-person basic supports for children and youth.”
For workers covered by the vaccine mandate who still need to get their shots, the table below helps show the dates by which you need to get your doses to meet the October 18 deadline for full vaccination. People are considered fully vaccinated 14 days
after their last dose of COVID-19 vaccine. It may already be too late for workers to complete the Moderna vaccine series by the deadline. However, workers can still start the Pfizer series (which is fully approved by the FDA) by September 13 or the
Johnson & Johnson single shot by October 4 and meet the deadline.
Key vaccination deadlines
Vaccine | Series dose requirement | First dose no later than | Second dose | Completed series | Fully vaccinated = Two weeks past final dose (required by 10/18) |
|---|
Pfizer | 2 doses, 21 days apart | 09/13/21 | 10/04/21 | 10/04/21 | 10/18/21 |
Moderna | 2 doses, 28 days apart | 09/06/21 | 10/04/21 | 10/04/21 | 10/18/21 |
Janssen/Johnson & Johnson | Single dose | 10/04/21 | N/A | 10/04/21 | 10/18/21 |