The Los Angeles School Board Will Vote On Whether Or Not To Mandate Student Vaccinations

To attend in-person courses in the nation’s second-largest school system, the Los Angeles education board decided Thursday to require kids 12 and older to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. As a result of the decision, Los Angeles is now the biggest of a very limited number of school districts required to provide vaccines. Last month, the nearby city of Culver City implemented a policy identical to this one for its 7,000 pupils.

The Los Angeles School Board Will Vote On Whether Or Not To Mandate Student Vaccinations

With more than 600,000 mainly Latino children, the Los Angeles Unified School District currently tests all students and staff once a week, mandates masks both inside and outdoors, and has mandated all personnel to get vaccinated. Students in grades 12 and above who engage in sports, as well as other extracurricular activities, are required to have their two-shot series finished by the end of October, according to the immunization schedule. Others have till December 19 to submit their applications.

It is not the goal of this activity to violate anyone’s rights. According to her, our action is like doing our part to be able to provide public schools where children can go to school and feel secure, and she explained why. Last spring, Los Angeles Unified was one of the last of the nation’s biggest school systems to reopen its doors to classroom teaching. The teachers’ union has been campaigning against the decision for months, raising health concerns. The district’s total number of students is almost three-quarters Latino, with many of them coming from low-income families. Poor Latinos get vaccinations at a lesser rate than the general population, according to a new study.

Coronavirus case rates in children increased in Los Angeles County from mid-July to mid-August. Still, the rate has subsequently decreased, according to Barbara Ferrer, head of the county’s Department of Health. She noted that the move corresponded with the opening of many schools, which had implemented safety measures like masking and testing. She cautioned that sending so many kids to school may result in increased exposures, which authorities would be carefully monitoring.

The proposal received overwhelming approval from the Los Angeles school board, which described it as a sensible public health policy and a crucial step toward keeping schools available for the in-person learning that kids need. Jackie Goldberg remembered a time when polio swept throughout her school, and her classmate in third grade lost an arm as a result of the disease.

There are currently no coronavirus vaccinations approved for use in children under the age of 12 in the United States. Students aged 12 and above will be entirely vaccinated by the time they return to school after winter break on January 11, according to a proposal put forward by Los Angeles Unified School District. Those who participate in sports and other activities must have their first dose of vaccination administered by October 3 and a second dose administered by October 31. Other pupils must have their first dose administered by November 21 and a second dose administered no later than December 19.