Editorial: Now’s the time to mandate vaccination for public school students
LA TimesThe teachers of Los Angeles-area schools were ordered in August to bare their arms for vaccinations against COVID-19, and now they’re wondering: What about the students? United Teachers Los Angeles is calling for the L.A. Unified School District to mandate vaccination for all eligible students, which for now would mean those 12 and older, unless there is a compelling medical or religious reason. The number of students 16 and older isn’t large enough — maybe just one-fifth of students — to make a big difference, and the legalities of compelling inoculation with an emergency-use vaccine are sketchy. In the meantime, the teachers are right: L.A. Unified — and school districts statewide — should adopt a policy that mandates the vaccine for students as soon as the FDA bestows full approval for their age group. And even emergency use approval, when it comes, for children under 12 will help increase community protection because there are plenty of parents who would like to have their elementary-school-age children vaccinated and won’t wait for full approval.