Fairfax County Public Schools are requiring that all athletes that wish to participate in winter and spring sports or any activity that requires a physical must get the Covid-19 vaccine or get tested weekly. Students partaking in activities or sports in the fall will not be forced to take the vaccine or any testing.

The rule will go into effect in early November. This is to ensure that everyone partaking in activities will be safe and help prevent the spread of Covid-19.I think this is a great idea. The vaccine is a quick and easy way to prevent extra cases of Covid and helps the body fight against it which would protect student-athletes. I do agree with the fact that if students don’t want the vaccine then the only alternative should be weekly Covid testing.

“I plan on doing track in the spring but I don’t want to get the vaccine,” senior Limia Bahar says. “I’m okay with taking weekly tests but I don’t want to have to pay for a test every single week.”

The school does tell you where you can get Covid testing but not the price, they provide a website of all the testing sights and it tells you that if you don’t have insurance that there are other ways to help pay for the testing. I like how the school is making it easy for students to find places to get their weekly tests done instead of forcing them to find out by themselves.

“I honestly don’t mind the new rule just because I am vaccinated and I don’t do winter sports, but I think it’s a good idea. We have already had multiple people from sports teams getting Covid due to coming in contact with someone that had it,” says junior Samuel Wondwosen.

Since I plan on doing a winter and spring sport, I appreciate the new rule. I do think that the whole school, in general, should either be vaccinated or get tested weekly. I applaud Annandale for applying this rule to student athletes. It looks to me that Annandale took advantage of the fact that a majority of the students are enrolled in a school sport.

Due to this, many students at school will be vaccinated or regularly checked for Covid. This will play a huge role in decreasing our schools Covid cases. In the end, this rule was only placed to protect the students.

This alone makes the requirement very understandable, but what is odd though is that the rule only applies to student-athletes. What about the rest of the student population? A lot of people who are not student athletes are getting Covid and are coming in contact with many students.

It would only make sense to apply this rule to them as well. Athletes should not be the only thing the school is prioritizing right now. Covid is happening to anyone and it is just as spreadable in a classroom. I can say with confidence that applying this rule to the entire school will allow for a safer and comfortable school community. I am just glad that the school has taken the initiative to require a vaccine or weekly testing for athletes to be able to keep Covid cases at a minimum.