Clark County School District’s Sept. 2 vote to require COVID-19 vaccinations of its employees created a ripple of discussions and a call for staff walkouts in protest.
The walkouts, however, did not have the punch some had hoped for in Mesquite.
According to school staff at Virgin Valley High and Hughes Middle School, not many took part in Tuesday’s walkout/call out, leading to disappointment among some in the community, including on Facebook.
“I’m pretty disappointed with our high School teachers and this walkout,” commented one person in the group. “To those who didn’t show up to school today, I applaud you.”
Denise Houston took a big step in protest to the upcoming vote, when she stepped down about three weeks ago as Virgin Valley High School’s drill team coach.
“I believe in freedom of choice,” she said. “Whatever that choice may be.”
Whatever the reasons behind a lackluster response from Mesquite educational staff, the decisions and continuing protest to mandates for masks and vaccines highlight one thing — people are tired of COVID-19 and all that goes with it.
According to the World Health Organization, pandemic fatigue has become a real problem. Even those who may have put forth wholehearted effort in the beginning have become complacent after so many months of lockdowns, mandates and restrictions.
That being said, one study out of the UK suggests that non-compliance with regulations is not as wide-spread a problem as one would think, but media coverage of those who do not adhere actually creates more of a problem than any actual numbers.
“To the surprise of many, adherence to stringent behavioural regulations has remained extremely high (over 90%), even though many people are suffering considerably, both financially and psychologically,” says a study by Stephen Reicher,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK, and John Drury, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK.
According to the CCSD website, about 65% of district employees are already vaccinated, which is lower than what Reicher and Drury surmise, but may be why there was little reaction from district employees working in Mesquite — no need if they already have the vaccine. Unfortunately, no information on what the exact percentage of vaccinated in the area schools is available.
