Wenatchee Valley College Among Higher Ed Schools in Region to Drop Philosophical Exemption for COVID-19 Shots

Employees at a number of central Washington colleges can no longer claim a philosophical exemption for COVID-19 vaccinations.

They include Wenatchee Valley College, which is making the change to conform with state requirements announced by Governor Jay Inslee last week.

The vaccine rules apply to all higher education faculty, staff and other workers who will still be allowed to claims medical and religious exemptions.

Central Washington University in Ellensburg is also eliminating the philosophical exemption.

WVC originally announced it would require vaccinations of its employees on August 12, prior to Inslee’s vaccine order. The school then released a statement Tuesday on the elimination of the philosophical exemption. Central Washington released a similar statement Tuesday from school President Jim Wohlpart.

Both WVC campuses in Wenatchee and Omak will be reopening fully this September before the start of fall quarter, with all on-campus services and programs resuming normal business hours.

The first day of school at WVC is September 27^th. Both Wenatchee Valley and Central Washington are requiring masks of staff and students, although Central Washington will decide on October 18^th whether extend or drop the face-covering mandate