At a San Francisco school on October 1, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his plans to prepare California to become the first state to require all public school students over the age of 12 to have the COVID-19 vaccine.
California Governor Gavin Newsom plans to require children attending in-person public school to have the COVID-19 vaccine just as they would with other mandated vaccines, like measles or mumps following the FDA approval of Pfizer for 12-15 year olds.
“​​The state already requires that students are vaccinated against viruses that cause measles, mumps, and rubella – there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do the same for COVID-19,” Newsom stated.
In a statement released by the Office of Governor Gavin Newsome, the earliest this mandate could be set into effect is January 2022. However, local districts are encouraged to discharge this mandate prior to it being made a statewide requirement depending on their needs.
Once the Pfizer vaccine is FDA approved, all children at or over the age of requirement will need to have the vaccine to attend in-person public school. Should a child be under the age of requirement, they will need the vaccine as soon as they have reached the approval age. Newsom is also planning to add children from kindergarten to sixth grade to this list if the vaccine is also approved for their age group.
Governor Newsom is confident in this plan even though it will undoubtedly cause controversy within the community of those choosing not to immunize their kids. Should the vaccine go against a person’s religious or personal beliefs, there is another option: a child does not need to be vaccinated, but, should they choose not to be, they must enroll in an online school or be home-schooled.
As stated by the Office of Governor Gavin Newsome, it is believed that this is the next step into getting and keeping the COVID-19 case numbers where they need to be: low.
“Today’s measure, just like our first-in-the-nation school masking and staff vaccination requirements, is about protecting our children and school staff, and keeping them in the classroom,” Newsom announced. “We encourage other states to follow our lead to keep our kids safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Although these new mandates will not apply to NDB because it is a private school, much of the NDB community has taken into their own hands to get vaccinated. About 94% of students and 99% of staff are fully vaccinated. An NDB Junior Delaney Icard-Cullen says, “I hope the vaccine mandate will help everyone stay safe, and make it so that things can go back to normal.”