Starting on the 21st of March of this year, Shoreline Schools will not require masks to be worn on school campuses.
We are still in the throes of a pandemic that is approaching two years of impact on our education and lives. The massive spike in cases at the hands of Omicron is on its way down, which is something to celebrate, but as we have seen dozens of times at this point, society has continuously jumped the gun and forgone protections too early, resulting in yet another wave. Health care facilities are overrun and stretched so thin. Massive amounts of people have contracted Covid and too many have died.

Covid has disproportionally impacted many different communities, one of which includes immunocompromised individuals.

A recent cancer patient and one who is suffering extreme physical impacts as a complication from treatment, I am terrified of why would happen if I contracted Covid. It is a large possibly that I would die. My family and I have been seriously locked down for the majority of the pandemic, which has taken such a mental, emotional, educational, social toll on us all. And that is not an uncommon story for many immunocompromised families.
It is so dangerous for me to attend school without a mask mandate and so now, I will probably have to stay home and unenroll for the rest of the year. My siblings can’t miss any more school without becoming truant and risking consequences. If the mask mandate continues past March 21st, then we can finish out the year. And that is just my experience.

I know many many of my peers and teachers worry about bringing Covid home to immunocompromised family members. And while the odds are in your favor if you have no comorbidities, getting Covid sucks, regardless of your health status. Giving it to others sucks. Having Long-haulers Covid sucks. Staying in this pandemic sucks.
Relinquishing the mask mandate in schools, where a massive amount of transmission occurs and where vulnerable people are exposed, feels irresponsible and quite honestly dangerous.

Please sign so that we can tell the Shoreline School district to keep the mask mandate and stay true to their promise: to have all of their students feel safe when going to school.