Update: State should ‘pump the brakes’ on COVID vaccine mandate, Stanislaus schools chief says
In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, Stanislaus County Superintendent Scott Kuykendall said California should “pump the brakes” on vaccination requirements and allow parents and pediatricians to decide.
State officials should wait until there are “long-term studies and better answers to questions, including appropriate vaccine dosage for younger children and the effectiveness of natural immunity,” Kuykendall said in an email Friday following Newsom’s announcement that morning.
“Student safety continues to be our first priority in Stanislaus County,” Kuykendall said.
Stanislaus County is seeing a mixed reaction to the mandate, which will go into effect after the federal government fully approves the vaccine for younger age groups.
The reaction to the state mandate was swift on the comment section of The Modesto Bee’s Facebook page.
“I guess my kids will be home-schooled,” wrote Carissa Andrade of Modesto.
Eric Norton, another Modesto parent, did not see a problem with the vaccination requirement. “They have been requiring vaccines in schools for a number of years now,” Norton wrote. “It’s been a known thing that prior to starting school the kids need their (vaccinations). How is this any different?”
School district superintendents met at 1 p.m. Friday. Some said they weren’t surprised by Newsom’s announcement after watching other California districts implement vaccine mandates.
Keyes Union Superintendent Helio Brasil said in an email that he expects the mandate to further divide the community and could lead to parents pulling their children into home schools. Newsom’s mandate applies to public and private schools.
Brasil hopes community members understand that educators hear their concerns but don’t have the power to contradict statewide rules.
“I would like to share with our communities, that this is not a district or local decision,” Brasil wrote. “We have no say in this.”
The mandate could go into effect for grades 7 to 12 as early as Jan. 1, but that depends on whether the Food and Drug Administration gives full approval in November to the COVID vaccine for kids 12 and older.
Officially, the state’s vaccination mandate for schoolchildren will take effect the following term after full FDA approval of the vaccine. Any mandate for students in grades K-6 is likely months way and depends on FDA approval for the younger age group.
The FDA has fully approved the COVID Pfizer vaccine for people 16 and older, and an emergency authorization currently allows vaccinations for students ages 12 to 15.
Those students who opt out will have to learn at home. The mandate does allow exemptions based on medical reasons or religious beliefs, but specific rules for exemptions have not been issued.
In setting a timetable for the vaccination mandate, the Newsom administration hopes to motivate immunization efforts in school districts ahead of the deadline.
Oakdale Joint Unified Superintendent Dave Kline said parents should pay attention to information related to the mandate, such as implementation procedures and guidelines on exemptions. “Don’t rush to make a judgment,” he said.
Kline said he’s waiting to see whether the state Legislature weighs in and if organizations will mount legal challenges.
“Who knows what’s going to happen between now and when this comes into play?” he said.
Modesto City Schools sent a message to parents Friday evening laying out the details of the mandate and acknowledging that parents have many questions. “We understand that many families have concerns regarding the governor’s mandate and we will continue to keep you informed of updates as they become available,” the message said.
Stanislaus County has made some progress in vaccination of school-age children who are 12 and older.
According to county Health Services Agency data, 11,604, or 34.7%, of children ages 12 to 15 are fully vaccinated against COVID and 3,213, or 9.6%, are partly vaccinated. The county has 33,461 young people in that age group.
Among teenagers 16 and 17 years old, 7,057, or 42.7%, have been fully vaccinated and 1,588, or 9.6%, have been partly vaccinated. The county’s total population in that age group is 16,548.
Some districts, including Turlock Unified and Modesto City Schools, have already asked eligible students to submit proof of vaccination if they’d like to follow modified quarantine guidelines that allow fully vaccinated students to remain in school if identified as a close contact.
Turlock Unified spokeswoman Marie Russell said Friday that the district did not have the number of students who have submitted proof of vaccination “readily available.”
Turlock Unified has also hosted several vaccine clinics to encourage students to get the vaccine. Beth Jimenez, spokeswoman for Ceres Unified School District, said in an email, “We are already working with our community to provide convenient access to vaccines for students and families, and will continue to do so when the state mandate takes effect.”
Compliance with the state order is likely to be slower in Stanislaus County, where 54% of residents eligible for COVID vaccine have completed the inoculation, far below the state and national vaccination rates.
The majority of California students have returned to in-person learning for the 2021-2022 academic year. Students and staff already have to wear masks in K-12 classrooms, and Newsom in August announced a requirement for teachers to get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing as a condition of employment.
With Friday’s announcement, teachers will now need to be vaccinated by the same deadline as students. Newsom said the state also wants to see COVID vaccinations for paraprofessionals, bus drivers and other employees at campuses.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
