Students participating in in-person extracurricular activities need both shots as soon as the end of October. The resolution mentions “qualified and accepted exemptions” but does not provide details.
Preliminary data on infections in Los Angeles schools this academic year has been reassuring. according to a Los Angeles Times Tracker Based on district data, 1,385 active COVID-19 cases were identified in schools till Tuesday; Four were linked to on-campus broadcasts, and a single school had an on-campus outbreak.
Like many districts, Los Angeles operates vaccine clinics in Unified Schools. It has the largest school testing program in the country, screening all students and staff members weekly for the infection. Masks are required for every person on campus, indoors and out, and staff members must be vaccinated, with limited exceptions for serious medical conditions and for those with genuinely religious beliefs.
The four-month deadline before proof of vaccination on January 10 will allow the district to partner with community organizations, clinics and doctors’ offices to reach the approximately 80,000 students who are eligible for vaccination but not vaccinated It has been done, Mr. Melvoin said. The district may be knocking on the door in a similar effort to encourage families to fill out the US Census.
The task in a large, sprawling district like Los Angeles would be logistically complicated. And while not every eligible student will be fully vaccinated until Christmas, the timing of the required first and second shots should allow students to gain at least some protection against the virus before the holiday season, when cases last year. had grown.
“We didn’t want to set the district up for failure by setting a deadline that had to be pushed back,” Mr Melvoin said.
A major constituency supporting the student vaccine mandate is the city’s teacher union, United Teachers Los Angeles. The group has emphasized on stringent safeguards during the long period of distance learning, throughout the pandemic and during the last academic year. Organization continues to ask For a more aggressive quarantine for those exposed to the virus.