(CNS) – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a first-in-the-nation mandate Friday requiring eligible students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes at public and private schools.
The requirement, however, will not take effect right away. The mandate will be phased in beginning the school term after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives full authorization for the vaccine’s use on children aged 12 and over, meaning the policy likely won’t take effect until next year, potentially not until the fall, beginning with kids in grades 7 and up.
The requirement for students in kindergarten through sixth grade will not effect until a vaccine receives approval for younger children.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently fully authorized for people aged 16 and up. Newsom said religious and medical exemptions will be permitted.
The mandate will also apply to all school staff as soon as it kicks in for students. School teachers and staff in the state are already required to be either vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID testing. The mandate will eliminate the testing option.
“While there continues to be encouraging signs and continuing to see progress with more and more people who maybe were on the fence, that are now getting the vaccine … there’s still a struggle to get to where we need to go, and that means we need to do more and we need to do better,” Newsom said while making the announcement at a school in San Francisco.
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.
