Will Portsmouth Abbey require students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated?
Yes, unless they have a School-approved religious or medical exemption.
All community members are required to be fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized COVID vaccine. This represents the best opportunity to provide a safe and healthy in-person school year and protects our larger campus community.
Please note that the following vaccines are accepted by the RIDOH:
- Moderna (2 doses) FDA emergency use authorized
- Pfizer (2 doses) FDA emergency use authorized
- J&J/Janssen (1 dose) FDA emergency use authorized
- AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized
- Sinopharm (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized
- Sinovac (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized
BOOSTER SHOTS
The best protection against infection from COVID-19 is full vaccination plus a booster dose. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) now recommend COVID booster vaccination for all people age 16 and over who completed the initial series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least 6 months ago. Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccination should receive a booster dose 2 months after initial vaccination. For our students ages 16 and 17, Pfizer is the only approved booster vaccine. Students ages 18 and above who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson may receive a booster from any manufacturer.
Parents and students should feel free to contact our school medical services at infirmary@portsmouthabbey.org, 401-643-1233 at any time with questions or concerns that are not answered below. Parents of students who are medically vulnerable, have been diagnosed with chronic conditions, or auto-immune disorders should contact the infirmary to discuss the specifics of their child’s individual needs. Every effort will be made to provide appropriate accommodations for the increased health and safety requirements for these students.
I remain unvaccinated, what does that mean?
Unvaccinated students are likely to be required to participate in asymptomatic COVID testing on a regular basis. The schedule for testing will be dependent on Rhode Island’s community transmission numbers and other data and guidance provided by RIDOH.
Unvaccinated students will likely have additional testing requirements in order to participate in competitive sports. It is possible that unvaccinated students will not be allowed to compete. This decision will be affected by league and opponent school protocols.