Students participating in athletics programs at Fairfax County Public Schools will be required to get the coronavirus vaccine, officials announced Monday.

The requirement goes into effect on Nov. 8, to allow time for students to comply: All students must be fully vaccinated by that date. It’s the first school system in the region to adopt a vaccine mandate for student athletes.

“Vaccinating our students is a critical step in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and minimizing any disruption to learning,” wrote Superintendent Scott Brabrand in a letter to the school community. “The majority of pauses to instruction for our high school students come as a result of exposure during athletic activities, which the Virginia Department of Education classifies as a high-risk activity.”

On Tuesday, Loudoun County Public Schools followed the Fairfax example, requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination for all athletes participating in winter and spring sports as well as out-of-season practices. LCPS also set the same Nov. 8 deadline for students to comply.

Loudoun Superintendent Scott Ziegler called the move “a necessary step” to preventing COVID outbreaks. Most outbreaks in the county’s high schools have come from exposures in athletic settings, according to a news release.

LCPS student athletes who do not comply with the vaccine mandate for medical or religious reasons will be required to submit weekly negative coronavirus test results and before returning to play after a known COVID exposure.

The vaccine requirement aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “High-risk sports and extracurricular activities should be virtual or canceled in areas of high community transmission unless all participants are fully vaccinated,” the CDC recommends.

Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and most of the D.C. region, are currently experiencing high community transmission. The CDC considers high-risk activities to be “those in which increased exhalation occurs, such as activities that involve singing, shouting, band, or exercise, especially when conducted indoors.”

The mandate applies to students participating in Virginia High School Sports League winter and spring sports in both jurisdictions. Fairfax students participating in other activities that require a physical will also be required to show proof of vaccination, including dance team and step team. All coaches are also required to get the vaccine, under a previously announced policy mandating the shot for all FCPS staff and LCPS staff.

In Fairfax, the vaccine mandate will likely affect about 8,000 of the county’s 188,000 students, per a spokesperson for the school system. The county already has a high vaccination rate among students: 75% of 16-18-year-olds in the county are currently fully vaccinated, according to school officials, while 85% have had at least one dose. FCPS began in-person classes on Aug. 23, and has so far reported 164 COVID-19 cases among students, and 69 among staff.

Nationwide, only a handful of school districts have adopted a similar vaccination policy for student athletes. New York City officials announced earlier this month this month that all students playing high-risk sports would be required to be vaccinated by the first day of competitive play.

FCPS sports affected by the vaccine mandate include:

• Basketball
• Gymnastics
• Cheerleading
• Indoor track and field
• Swim and dive
• Wrestling
• Rifle
• Baseball
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Soccer
• Softball
• Tennis
• Crew
• Dance
• Step

Margaret Barthel contributed reporting.