California School Kids Will Be Required To Get Vaccinated Against Covid
It's the first state to mandate the shot for all students — which will not go into effect until a vaccine for younger kids is approved by the FDA. Separately, the Supreme Court allowed New York's teacher and school staff vaccination requirement to stand.
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Will Be First State To Require COVID-19 Vaccine For Students
California will require all public and private school students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus once the shot receives final approval for younger age groups. The rule, announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, adds COVID-19 to the list of diseases that children must be immunized against in order to attend school in the state, which already includes chickenpox, measles, polio and tetanus. Students who refuse will be offered independent study instead. (Koseff and Tucker, 10/1)
Fox News:
Fauci Defends California School Vaccine Mandate: Not A 'Novel' Requirement
Dr. Anthony Fauci has praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate for all students to get a COVID-19 vaccine, arguing that this is not a "novel" approach for schools. California proudly announced the nation’s first-ever statewide COVID-19 vaccine requirement in schools. Newsom’s announcement compared the mandate to those for measles, mumps and rubella. The mandate has divided parents in the state, but Fauci applauded California’s decision, echoing California’s argument. (Aitken, 10/3)
And the school vaccine mandate takes effect in New York City —
AP:
COVID Vaccine Mandate Takes Effect For NYC Teachers, Staff
New York City teachers and other school staff members are supposed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when the bell rings Monday morning, in one of the first school district mandates in the country requiring employees to be inoculated against the coronavirus. Mayor Bill de Blasio gave a final warning to the city’s roughly 148,000 public school staffers on Friday, saying unvaccinated employees would be placed on unpaid leave and not be allowed to work this week. The city planned to bring in substitutes where needed. (Matthews, 10/4)
Axios:
Sotomayor Allows NYC Schools' COVID Vaccine Mandate To Stay In Place
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday blocked a challenge to New York City's vaccine requirement for public school teachers and employees, allowing the mandate to remain in place. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in August that all 148,000 staff members of the largest U.S. school district would need to submit proof of at least one dose of a COVID vaccine or risk unpaid leave until September 2022. (Chen, 10/1)
In other K-12 school mandate news —
Politico:
Student Athletes Become The Latest Target For School Vaccine Mandates
The battle to curb the spread of Covid-19 in schools is quickly moving to football fields and basketball courts. ... Eligible kids in Los Angeles public schools need their second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine by Halloween to join in-person extracurricular activities, including sports and after-school programs. Students 12 years old and up in Washington, D.C., public schools must be fully vaccinated beginning Nov. 1 to participate in school athletics. New York City students in “high risk” public league sports and extracurriculars must also get shots, while Chicago Public Schools has announced an athlete vaccine-or-test requirement. (Perez Jr., 10/3)
The Washington Post:
As Students With Long-Haul Covid Return To School, Many Districts Don’t Fully Know How To Help
At the start of the school year, 9-year-old Harli Hecht pulled out a set of rainbow-colored markers and crafted a letter to her fellow fourth-graders. “My name is Harli, and I’m in your class,” she printed on blue poster paper. “I am learning at home. I have two sisters and three dogs. Please write back to me when you have the time.” The note, now hanging in what should have been her classroom, represents the only meaningful contact Harli has had with other students since lingering covid-19 symptoms forced her into homebound learning this fall. The headaches, fatigue and emotional outbursts that have plagued Harli for more than a year have since kept her from participating in normal classroom learning or virtual instruction. (Iati, 10/3)
The Advocate:
Louisiana Lawmakers Say COVID Vaccines Aren't Fully Approved. Experts Say That's 'Complete Nonsense'
When Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation back in June barring schools and universities from enforcing COVID vaccine requirements, they agreed that the protections would only be needed for a limited period of time. By that point, more than 3 million vaccine doses had been administered in Louisiana and data proved the jabs both safe and effective against COVID-19. But vaccine skeptics in the statehouse didn’t trust the nation’s scientists. They claimed that because the vaccines had been approved under emergency-use authorization, they hadn’t been fully vetted, ignoring the rigorous clinical trials that had demonstrated their effectiveness. (Paterson, 10/3)
In higher-education news —
CNBC:
Facing Covid Vaccine Mandates, Some Students Withdraw From College
For some college students, the Covid vaccine is a price they are not willing to pay for a degree. Justin Mishler, a 29-year-old junior at Northern Illinois University, is one of them. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mishler enrolled in the state school in 2016 through the GI Bill, which helps cover the cost of tuition, books and housing. During the pandemic, he took time off to work rather than attend school remotely. This fall, Mishler would have returned in person, but, in August, Northern Illinois announced all students must submit proof of vaccination or request an exemption and get tested weekly. (Dickler, 10/3)
The Baltimore Sun:
Universities Find Mandates Effective In Convincing Maryland Students To Get COVID Vaccines, Feel Safer On Campus
Maryland universities say mandatory COVID vaccine deadlines have largely been effective for convincing students to get the shot, with just a few dozen at some campuses refusing and facing consequences such as being barred from in-person classes or kicked out of school altogether. At least 14 Maryland colleges and universities required students, and in some cases employees, to get vaccinated before the fall semester. In announcing the mandates in the spring, officials said they feared that a return to in-person classes, coupled with close living quarters on campus, could result in outbreaks. (Reed, 10/1)
AP:
Boston University Hosts Belated Graduation For Class Of 2020
More than a year after they graduated, hundreds of Boston University alumni are returning to campus on Sunday for a belated commencement ceremony. The university is hosting an outdoor graduation event for the Class of 2020, which never had an in-person commencement because of the pandemic. Nearly 2,000 graduates are expected to return for the ceremony at Nickerson Field, school officials said. (10/3)
