In the News
Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine is now Available for Kids. Will Schools Require It?
- USA Today
-
Focus Areas
Communicable Disease Prevention -
Issues
School-based Efforts -
Programs
Safely Opening Schools -
Strategic Initiatives
COVID-19
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for children ages 5 to 11, and shot clinics have started. The next question, for many parents: Will their kids be required to get the shots to attend school?
Seventeen states have passed laws or issued directives banning schools or colleges from requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Some of the
laws only apply to vaccines under emergency authorization, though others do not.
Still, especially in states without such bans, “I would expect to see increasing movement toward adding COVID-19 to the list of vaccinations for older schoolchildren,” said Lynn Silver, a pediatrician and senior advisor and director of the Safely Opening Schools program at the Public Health Institute. “The question is how quickly to move forward for 5- to 11-year-olds.”
For schools to be safe, to ensure continuity in education, … requiring vaccines as soon as possible will be a key step. We don’t want schools to have to be public health agencies; we want them to focus on what they do best, which is student learning.Dr. Lynn Silver, director, Safely Opening Schools
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in October that the COVID vaccine would be added to the list of immunizations required to attend the state’s schools once it’s fully approved for all kids in a “grade span.” The mandate is expected to go into effect in July 2022 for grades 7-12.
After a wave of measles outbreaks in California – caused largely by children whose
immunization requirement had been waived – the state strengthened its law and removed the “personal belief” exemption. The number of unvaccinated kindergartners, according to Silver, fell by nearly half.
Click below to read the full story from USA Today (subscription required).
Originally published by USA Today
More Updates
California Overdose Prevention Network VISTA Alum Reed Nolan Selected for Service Year Alums Award
Statement on Governor Newsom’s Passage of Legislation to Strengthen the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Safety Net System
WaPo: PHI’s Mike Sage on How NFL Stadiums Can Operate as Disaster Shelters
Work With Us
You change the world. We do the rest. Explore fiscal sponsorship at PHI.
Support Us
Together, we can accelerate our response to public health’s most critical issues.
Find Employment
Begin your career at the Public Health Institute.