California will require eligible students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend school in-person, but only after the Food and Drug Administration fully approves the vaccine for more school-aged children, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.
"I believe we'll be the first state in America to move forward with this mandate and requirement," Newsom said from a school in San Francisco.
He said student vaccine mandates will keep more kids safe and learning continuously in classrooms. The mandate would be rolled out in two phases as the FDA fully approves the vaccine for more children — first for students in middle and high school and then for elementary school students.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has been fully approved for those 16 and over, but it's operating under an emergency use authorization for 12- to 15-year-olds. Once there's full vaccine approval for that age group, California will require public and private school students in 7th through 12th grade to be vaccinated by the start of the next term, either Jan. 1 or July 1, whichever comes sooner, Newsom said.
Realistically, that means the mandate would likely take effect July 1 of next year for students in 7th through 12th grade, although speedy action from the FDA could move up the timeline.
The process of full FDA approval for vaccines for younger students will likely extend into Fall 2022. That means the vaccine mandate for kindergarten through sixth graders to attend school in-person in California wouldn't kick in until after that.
The mandate will allow exemptions for religious, medical and personal beliefs — just like other state-required immunizations for school, Newsom said.
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While 84% of all eligible Californians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the same is true of only 63.5% of children ages 12 to 17, Newsom said.
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Delta variant drives infections and school closures
California's announcement comes as the highly infectious delta variant of the virus has driven a spike in infections and school closures. Since classes resumed this fall, about 2,200 in-person school closures have occurred across 539 districts nationwide, according to Burbio, a company that tracks school calendars and COVID-related school issues.
The majority of parents — 62% — believe children in schools this year are facing greater risks from the virus compared to last year, according to a national USA TODAY/Ipsos poll conducted this fall. Despite pushback from those opposed to the vaccines, a similarly strong percentage of parents of school-aged children — 59% — support requiring eligible students to be vaccinated.
California in August became the first state to require all school staff to be vaccinated or tested regularly for COVID-19.
A growing number of districts and cities followed, some with stricter school employee vaccine mandates than others. Some districts and cities already require COVID-19 vaccines for student athletes.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, already requires all eligible students 12 and over to be vaccinated to return to school; the same vaccine mandate applies to education staff.
Vaccine mandates
enver required teacher vaccinations and masks. It's keeping kids in school.
Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, said on CNN at the end of August that he supports COVID-19 vaccine mandates for children attending schools, especially as the delta variant drives a surge in infections.
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