The Los Angeles Unified School District recently voted to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all students 12 and older and Poway Unified School District should follow their lead.

Students have to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 10, 2022 unless they have a qualified exemption. The deadline is even sooner for students involved in school-related, in-person extracurricular activities. These students would have to receive their first dose no later than Oct. 3 and the second dose by Oct.31. Younger students who are not yet 12 years old will eventually have to get the vaccine after their 12th birthday, but no later than 30 days after. LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation with about 225,000 students ages 12 and older. Those who do not get the vaccine and do not have a qualified exemption will not be allowed on any campuses in the district. According to the district, vaccine exemptions can only be obtained for medical reasons, not personal or religious beliefs.

The Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine has been approved by the FDA for individuals 12 and older. A local Los Angeles group of pediatricians who are members of the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement expressing their support for the mandate. Dr. Karinne Van Groningen is a pediatrician and one of the Legislative and Policy Analysts for the American Academy of Pediatrics who was featured in their statement.

“This will go a long way in decreasing the delta variant infections in children in Los Angeles County,” Groningen said. “Other schools and school districts should consider similar mandates.”

She’s right. Although many students have already gotten the vaccine, a mandate would guarantee that a large portion of our community would be fully vaccinated by early 2022.

District board members in LAUSD were met with protests from the community that will likely be present if a mandate is proposed for PUSD. The long term effects of the vaccines on younger populations are still being determined so it is understandable that parents are concerned. However, the FDA has reassured citizens that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and aids in combating the spread of COVID-19 amongst the younger population. A clinical trial run by the FDA proved that the Pfizer vaccine was 91% effective.

It was reported by the San Diego Health and Human Services Agency that on the week of Sept. 9, around 500 12-18 year olds caught COVID-19 in a school setting. Almost all of these people are attending in-person school which likely has caused them to spread COVID-19 to even more people. In a brief released by the CDC, they claim that evidence indicates that fully vaccinated people are less likely than unvaccinated persons to get COVID-19 or to transmit it to others. Introducing a mandate in schools will significantly decrease the number of COVID-19 cases that are caught or spread in school settings. As people are attending large events such as concerts and parties, and fewer places are requiring face masks, it is crucial that people are taking precautions to protect the people around them, which includes getting the vaccine.

A vaccination mandate for all schools in the district will force those who are reluctant to get vaccinated so they can continue with in-person school. A vaccine mandate would make classrooms much safer for students, staff, and the families they have at home.