Parents’ group protests Covid vaccine mandate in Sacramento

A grassroots parents’ group opposed to California’s vaccine mandate for children is planning a protest outside the state Capitol in Sacramento today.

The group, called Our Kids, Our Choice, is fighting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Oct. 1 order that all students in California schools — public, private and charter — be vaccinated against Covid-19 when a vaccine is approved for children. The Covid vaccine would join 10 other vaccines, such as mumps, polio and tetanus, that the state requires children to receive before starting school.

The protest is slated for 10 a.m. to noon. Scheduled speakers include Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Granite Bay, who was among the Republicans competing to unseat Newsom in last month’s unsuccessful recall election.

“We believe it is in our best interest as a society to maintain freedom of choice for what we put into our children’s bodies and our own,” organizers state on the group’s website. “We oppose efforts to take away our parental freedom to protect our children and make decisions in our children’s best interest.”