By Daniel Vega
After more than a year and a half of being in the Covid-19 Pandemic, the office of Governor Gavin Newsom has made a very controversial decision. Governor Gavin Newsom announced on October 1st that once the Covid-19 vaccine receives full FDA approval for middle and high school students, it will be added to the list of mandatory vaccines in order to attend in-person school. Other mandatory vaccines include those for: Polio, Varicella, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, and the DTAP. This announcement has already sparked protests throughout California, including the statewide school walkout that took place on Monday, October 18th, in which thousands of parents, students, and teachers gathered at the California State Capitol to protest.
It is currently unknown when this mandate is going to take effect, however, the mandate will take effect the school term after the FDA grants the Covid-19 vaccine full authorization for ages 12-17. This could happen as soon as January 1st, 2022, but it is more likely the mandate will take effect the following school term of July 1st, 2022. Whenever the mandate takes effect, students will be given a set time frame to get vaccinated, although that time frame has not yet been announced. Children from ages 5-11 will have a different timeline for vaccination. This timeline will depend on when the FDA grants full authorization for children ages 5-11, as the mandate will only take place with full use authorization, not emergency use authorization. Exemptions will be offered for students with medical needs, however, it is unlikely that personal belief exemptions would be offered due to Senate Bill 277 that was passed in 2015, which eliminated personal belief exemptions for any required vaccinations. The only way that a personal belief exemption would be offered is if the California State Legislature specifically allowed one. If a student is not vaccinated and has not been granted an exemption, they will either be required to be home-schooled, or use a virtual study program. All students who attend in-person school, from public and private schools alike will need to be vaccinated under the mandate, private schools are not exempt. Before this mandate officially takes effect, the state will listen to well-known organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, in order to make the best possible decisions regarding vaccinations in schools.
***For more information about the Covid Vaccine, see the Golden Gazette’s Covid Vaccine article titled “The Vaccine”.
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