Interior Dept. requires COVID-19 vaccinations for staff at BIE-managed schools
WASHINGTON – To help ensure the
safety of students, teachers and Tribal
communities, the Department of the Inte-
rior announced Sept. 2 it will require staff
and faculty at Bureau of Indian Education
(BIE) facilities to be vaccinated against
COVID-19. This includes Chemawa
Indian School in Salem, Ore.
Vaccination is the leading public
health strategy to end the COVID-19
pandemic. Getting school communities
vaccinated – including school staff and
eligible students – will go a long way in
preventing outbreaks before they happen
and help to ensure students can remain
learning in-person at school.
Consistent with the best available
science and appropriate prevention strate-
gies to reduce transmission of COVID-19,
Secretarial Order 3402 requires educators
at all BIE-operated elementary schools,
secondary schools, off-reservation board-
ing schools and peripheral dormitories
to get either a single-dose Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized
or approved COVID-19 vaccine (such as
Johnson & Johnson or comparable future
vaccines) or both doses of a two-dose
FDA-authorized or approved COVID-
19 vaccine (such as Pfizer, Moderna or
comparable future vaccines) no later than
Oct. 15, 2021.
The department recognizes that edu-
cation plays a critical role in promoting
equity in learning and health, particularly
for Indigenous communities that have
been disproportionately affected by
COVID-19. Today’s actions are in line
with Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention recommendations that educational
institutions take action to provide for the
vaccination of all teachers and staff, in
addition to other mitigation measures,
such as masks and social distancing.
The United States has a direct inter-
est in protecting American Indian and
Alaska Native children, including their
education, as part of its trust responsi-
bility. This vaccination requirement will
help ensure American Indian and Alaska
Native students continue to safely receive
the invaluable benefits afforded by the
BIE-operated schools.
The Interior Department is the latest
agency within the Biden-Harris adminis-
tration to implement vaccine requirements
for members of its workforce. Recently,
the Departments of Health and Human
Services, Veterans Affairs and Defense
announced plans to require COVID-19
vaccinations for personnel.
For more information about the Siletz Tribe, visit ctsi.nsn.us.
Legal Aid Services of Oregon and the Oregon Law Center, civil legal service
providers for low-income Oregonians, operate a public benefits hotline where
low-income Oregonians can talk to lawyers and paralegals to get advice on public
benefits, including unemployment benefits:
Oregon public benefits hotline: 800-520-5292 or Oregonlawhelp.org
You don’t have to leave your home
to apply!
Applications can now be done
online or over the phone.
The Health Care Marketplace is
open now through May 15, 2021.
-
Shop for health plans at
https://or.checkbookhealth.org/
or call direct at 855-268-9767.
-
Siletz Tribal Behavioral Health Programs
Prevention, Outpatient Treatment, and Women’s and Men’s
Transitional Living Center
Siletz: 800-600-5599 or
541-444-8286
Narcotics Anonymous Toll-Free
Help Line – 877-233-4287
Eugene: 541-484-4234
Salem: 503-390-9494
Portland: 503-238-1512
14 •
Siletz News
•
October 2021
For information on Alcoholics
Anonymous: aa-oregon.org