Federal appeals court says San Diego Unified’s vaccine mandate can move forward

In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court sided with San Diego Unified in its bid to require all students 16 and older to be vaccinated against Covid in order to remain enrolled in in-person classes, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In its ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s temporary injunction halting the mandate, based on a lawsuit from a student claiming that it discriminated against students who oppose the vaccine for religious reasons. The district’s original mandate allowed pregnant students, but not those with religious opposition, to postpone getting the vaccine. In response to the injunction, the district is now requiring pregnant students to get the vaccine, as well, according to the newspaper.

The district’s mandate states that all students age 16 and over must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 20.