California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that the state would be the first state in America to require COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 students, Fox News reports.
Newsom announced the vaccine mandate while speaking at a San Francisco-area school, saying all eligible students will be required to be vaccinated before attending class.
The current plan would require students older than 12 years old to receive the coronavirus vaccine in order to be able to attend class. This step would add the COVID-19 vaccine to the required list of childhood vaccinations required to attend school.
The vaccine requirement would be enforced after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives the approval for different age groups to receive the shot while allowing religious and medical exemptions.
California thus became the first state to require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend class.
The FDA in May approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for 12-15-year-olds, and the company has also sought authorization for children under 12.
An FDA official estimated in July that emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12 could come in early to midwinter.
Pfizer recently announced that its COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for children ages 5 to 11.
On Friday, the FDA announced that its advisory panel will discuss authorizing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five through 11 on October 26.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)