WATCH: COVID-19 Vaccine For School Attendance? NYC Considering Following California’s Lead

Part of the process for attending public school is submitting vaccine records that prove a student has received the routine childhood vaccinations. Could expanding the list of required immunizations to include COVID-19 vaccines be in the near future?

While the Supreme Court considers whether the Federal government has the right to mandate vaccines in the workplace, a different question is being posed at the state and local levels, especially now that vaccination is an option for most school-aged kids. Should it be required for school attendance, as so many others are?

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that he’s in talks with health officials and considering whether NYC should join the state of California in being an early adopter of the mandate.

CNN’s @jaketapper: “California is gonna require all students to get vaccinated to attend school in the fall. Will New York City do the same?”

NYC Mayor Adams: “That is something I am speaking with my health care officials to do an evaluation to determine if that is what we do.” pic.twitter.com/S3VyB0lrsT

— The Recount (@therecount) January 9, 2022

California became the first state to announce that COVID-19 vaccinations would be required for school attendance, declaring this in late 2021 as the nation waited for the vaccines to officially be available to school-aged kids.

Governor Gavin Newsome described this as just one more measure that his state was taking to protect the population.

The state already requires that students are vaccinated against viruses that cause measles, mumps, and rubella – there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do the same for COVID-19. Today’s measure, just like our first-in-the-nation school masking and staff vaccination requirements, is about protecting our children and school staff, and keeping them in the classroom. Vaccines work. It’s why California leads the country in preventing school closures and has the lowest case rates. We encourage other states to follow our lead to keep our kids safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19.