California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will require all students in the state to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
The plan calls for all elementary through high school students to get vaccinated once a vaccine gains final approval from the federal government for younger age groups, reports KCRA 3 News.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Covid-19 vaccine for those 16 and over but granted only an emergency authorization for anyone 12 to 15. Once federal regulators approve the vaccine for that group, the state will require students in seventh through 12th grades in both public and private schools to get vaccinated, Newsom’s office said.
The state will require a Covid-19 vaccine for students in kindergarten through sixth grade only after the federal government has given final approval for anyone 5 to 11.
California's vaccine mandate would take effect the semester after the federal government grants final approval. If it comes in January, then the mandate would take effect in July.
Students would be granted religious and medical exemptions, but the rules for how the state would apply those exemptions have not been established. Any student who refuses to take the vaccine would have to complete an independent study course at home.
Until now, Newsom had left the decision on student vaccine mandates to local school districts.
