Fauci says mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for students a ‘good idea’
Requiring students to receive COVID-19 vaccinations is a “good idea,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday as the nation heads into back-to-school season.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert weighed in on the hot-button issue on whether school children should get jabbed on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I believe that mandating vaccines for children to appear in school is a good idea,” Fauci told host Jake Tapper.
Fauci said he does not expect federal vaccine mandates for students but “definitely” thinks local ones will be imposed since the Pfizer vaccine has now been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“This is not something new,” the White House chief medical advisor continued. “We have mandates in many places in schools, particularly public schools, that if in fact you want a child to come in — we’ve done this for decades and decades requiring [vaccines for] polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis.
“So this would not be something new, requiring vaccinations for children to come to school.”
Students in New York State’s public schools are already required to receive several doses of nine different vaccinations over the course of their education.
Currently, the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine is only approved for individuals 16 and older, however, an emergency authorization remains in effect for children ages 12 to 16.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots have been approved for emergency use in those 18 and older by the FDA.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone over the age of 12 get jabbed against COVID.
Certain colleges and universities who require students to be vaccinated have already kicked out some non-complying students, according to USA Today.
Forty-nine students were disenrolled from the University of Virginia last week for not getting inoculated by July 1, which the school mandated on May 20, the outlet reported.
New York City is requiring its teachers and staff to get at least their first shot by Sept. 27
Certain states such as California, Washington and New Jersey have already established mask mandates for the staff of schools in their states.
Washington became the first state in the nation to mandate vaccines for teachers and other school employees at all levels. Employees who fail to get fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 will face termination.
California has also required vaccines for teachers and staff but offered the alternative option of being tested for the virus once per week.
New Jersey similarly followed suit last week, making vaccines mandatory for all preschool through 12th-grade staff but offering the option to be tested twice per week.
On Sunday, Fauci said that he was “certain” that Americans would need booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine but how long they’ll need to wait to get them could change.
“I’m certain we’re going to need that third dose, looking at the data that we’re seeing,” the White House chief medical advisor said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
