Thank you for continuing to do your part in keeping our community safe & healthy!
COVID-19 Health and Safety
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
UPDATE: November 30, 2021
As we evaluate compliance with new King County and City of Seattle Executive Orders requiring vaccines, we will suspend consideration of all vaccine exemptions until further notice.
WestSide Baby will require staff and volunteers to be vaccinated by Monday, November 15, 2021, with considerations for exemptions for religious, medical, deeply held personal reasons, and children under the age of 12 (until the vaccine is available to children under the age of 12).
We have chosen to require the vaccine because it is proven to be the most effective tool to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy, especially as the children we serve are unable to. Getting vaccinated puts our collective health above that of individuals, and when we look at the data for our community, and around the country, BIPOC communities have been disproportionately impacted by negative health and economic outcomes from COVID.
We also recognize there are valid reasons why an individual might seek an exemption, and it is important to us to honor the humanity of individuals in our community seeking an exemption with a transparent decision-making process. Our country’s systems and institutions are rooted in white supremacy and racism, which intersect further with the marginalization of many other identities. Specifically, there is a deeply violent history of violence and experimentation on Black and Indigenous communities throughout our healthcare system including in vaccine development.
We encourage you to learn more and understand this history and why we will carefully consider requests for exemptions based on medical, religious, or personal identity reasons. For those interested in learning more, we encourage you to check out the links below.
Mask Requirement
Mask up!
We ask that all WestSide Baby visitors continue to wear a properly fitting mask when inside our buildings. This includes those donation items, volunteers, and our partner providers. Our staff also all continue to wear masks when on-site.
Our mask policy has remained the same throughout the year based on three major factors:
- Internal staff feedback
- The protection of unvaccinated children
- The protection of unvaccinated adults and high-risk adults
We are excited to have more community members on-site as case rates decrease in our community, and appreciate you wearing your mask each time you visit. If you do not have a mask upon arrival, we can provide one for you!
Other Safety Measures
Staff and volunteers who are on-site continue to practice social distancing and frequent handwashing, and air purifiers are running throughout all offices and warehouse spaces.
To learn more about your safety when visiting, contact us at [email protected]
Resources:
Summary of COVID-19 vaccination among King County residents
https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/vaccination.aspx
Summary of COVID-19 vaccination among King County residentshttps://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/race-ethnicity.aspx
NPR: Race And The Roots Of Vaccine Skepticism
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/20/948614857/race-and-the-roots-of-vaccine-skepticism