New bill would add Covid vaccine to list of schools’ required immunizations

A new bill introduced Monday would require all K-12 students in California public and private schools to be vaccinated against Covid-19 beginning Jan. 1, 2023, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, who is also a pediatrician, takes Gov. Gavin  Newsom’s Covid vaccine mandate a step further. It would require the vaccine regardless of whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval and does not allow parents to opt out based on personal beliefs.

“We need to make sure schools are safe so that all parents are comfortable sending their children to school,” Pan said. “And we want to keep schools open.”