Newsom orders COVID vaccines for eligible students, the first K-12 school mandate in nation

In the first such action in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a mandate Friday requiring all eligible public and private schoolchildren in California to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a policy the state expects to affect millions of students.

The mandate would take effect for grades 7 through 12 as soon as the semester following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the vaccine for children ages 12 and older, Newsom said. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade would be phased in after the vaccine is formally approved for younger children.