Due to the presence of the COVID-19 vaccine students have been able to return to school and a semi-normal life.  Since the start of the school year, the Department of Education has been requiring all student-athletes, who seek to compete in school sports this year, to get a complete dose of the vaccine.  This has caused a division within the state due to the fears of getting the vaccine and doubt of its effectiveness.

Head of the boy’s basketball team, Travis Armstrong said, “I do not believe that requiring athletes to be vaccinated will affect them too much more than the current situation.  Vaccination just adds a layer of protection against COVID similar to many other vaccination requirements students have to have to attend school.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the COVID vaccination has been shown to provide resistance to coronavirus and its variants, with a majority of patients hospitalized being unvaccinated.  The CDC also found that the number of COVID-related deaths still far surpasses that of breakthrough cases in vaccinated people with any one of the three vaccines approved for emergency use.  The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was even approved by the FDA on August 23 for ages 16 up.

As reported by Harvard Health Publishing, there have been a few cases of the vaccine causing inflammation of the heart tissue (myocarditis and pericarditis) which can lead to permanent damage to the cardiovascular system (possibly disabling athletes from participating in sports) though most of the cases have been mild.  Both getting and not getting the shot can leave people with similar permanent heart problems considering they contract COVID.

“I…believe that everyone has the right to make their own personal decisions regarding the vaccination but with every decision there are consequences,” said Armstong.

The isolation of distance learning had caused increased levels of anxiety and depression in teens and undoubtedly also affected their physical state from being unable to compete on sports teams.  Coming back to school in person to socialize with friends and competing in sports was made possible by the COVID vaccine but that doesn’t mean it will be exactly the same as pre-COVID times.

Although sports teams are back in practice the schedule will be altered this year as the “…season schedule has already been pushed back one month.”

Armstrong continued, “Our off-season training will remain the same though and it gives us some more time to get athletes who are new to the program familiar with how we run our team and our expectations.”

It is hoped that the mandatory vaccination of athletes will not only help them stay in shape but also eventually allow them to return to a normal competition schedule.

Armstrong said, “…once an athlete is vaccinated, sports will continue close to the same manner as it did in the past.”

The current rising COVID rates in Hawaii are leading to increased pressure to get vaccinated but also increased opposition to mandatory COVID precautions, including vaccination, on the basis of violation of rights.  

Gov. David Ige issued an emergency proclamation on August 5 that mandates all state and county employees either get tested for coronavirus weekly or present proof of full vaccination which beginning August 16, a policy which the Department of Education embraced to “…help protect our ability to provide safe, in-person learning for our students,” according to HI DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi.

On August 10 about 200 protesters of this policy, including Honolulu mayor candidate William Stonebraker, gathered at Honolulu Hale and the state Capital because some thought that masks and vaccines were ineffective or harmful, while others felt that they should be allowed to choose to get the vaccine or wear masks as part of their guaranteed personal freedoms, according to the Star-Advertiser. 

Although being on a school sports team is not a guaranteed right, the same dispute also surrounds our school and the mandatory vaccination of student-athletes which has turned the issue of vaccination into a fiery battleground.

 “People need to figure out what is important and prioritize their decisions based on that,” said Armstong.

Students may receive information about future updates regarding vaccination requirements on the Hawaii Department of Education official webpage.