California will add the COVID vaccine to its list of mandatory school vaccinations as soon as the medicines receive full FDA approval, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.
That requirement could go into effect for 12- to 17-year-olds as soon as Jan. 1, Newsom said during an appearance at James Denman Middle School in San Francisco USD.
BREAKING: CA will require our kids to get the COVID-19 vaccine to come to school.
This will go into effect following full FDA approval.
Our schools already require vaccines for measles, mumps and more. Why? Because vaccines work.
This is about keeping our kids safe & healthy.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 1, 2021
“We want to end this pandemic, we are all exhausted by it,” Newsom said. “I believe will be the first state in America to move forward with this mandate and requirement but I do not believe by any stretch of the imagination that we will be the last state. In fact, I anticipate other states to follow suit.”
The COVID vaccine will join 10 others on the list of required vaccinations for students who attend California public schools in person. The state, as it does for other required vaccines, will allow for medical and religious exemptions, Newsom said.
The January deadline gives the state time to work with parents and administrators to build more confidence in the vaccines and work out logistics for vaccinated students, Newsom said.
At least five California districts have so far required students over 12 to get COVID vaccines by the end of the school year, and Newsom said he expects others may also act on their own to accelerate the state’s timeline.
“We have no trepidation, no hesitancy, in encouraging local districts to move forward more expeditiously,” he said.
Only a handful of districts in other states have enacted a vaccine mandate, and most only apply to student-athletes.
In San Francisco USD, 96% of staff and 90% of eligible students are vaccinated, Superintendent Vincent Matthews said during the governor’s press conference.
“I challenged the staff, the families, the students, I said one of the things we have to do if we are going to remain healthy and be safe is we have to take care of each other and the way that we do that is to make sure we are getting vaccinated and that we are wearing masks,” Matthews said. “This community has responded overwhelmingly.”
California now has the lowest COVID case rate in the US. Nearly two-thirds of 12- to 17-year-olds in the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Newsom said.
California was the first to issue a statewide mask mandate this school year and the first to require school staff to get vaccinated. Newsom noted there have been more school closures and student and staff infections in states such as Florida and Texas that have not been as forceful in mandating COVID precautions.
“We know there is no substitute for in-person instruction but we need to do that on a consistent and sustainable basis, not an episodic basis,” Newsom said.
“What you’ve seen across this county is leaders asserting the need and desire for the social and emotional benefits of in-person instruction yet they’re not following the science and as a consequence, the health of many of these districts, kids as well as staff, has been impacted.”
