Governor Newsom, who recently survived a recall challenge, has now expanded the mandate on Covid-19 vaccinations for California’s enrolled students. The mandate to vaccinate all K-12 children is effective immediately and will take effect once Covid-19 vaccines are FDA approved for younger students. This makes California the first state in the Nation to require Covid vaccines for all students. Other states may follow, despite the fact that a national poll shows that only 55% of parents want their children vaccinated.
You may recall that California has already mandated the vaccine for all students age 12 and up. As it stands, the state of California has implemented mandatory vaccination for all students who are 12-years-old and otherwise eligible for a vaccine and for those that are turning 12-years-old. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is currently available for 12-year-olds. However, since the vaccine has not yet been approved for those students younger than 12, the expanded mandate goes into effect upon approval of the vaccine for younger students. The vaccine is scheduled to become available in the coming months and students are expected to get them within 30 days of approval.