On April 14, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a statement regarding the state’s implementation timeline for adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations to attend school until the 2023-24 school year.
Since the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved COVID-19 vaccines for children in grades 7 through 12, the state will not initiate the regulatory process for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the 2022-23 school year. The state will delay the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for school attendance until after full FDA approval and after consideration of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. State action is now expected to take place no sooner than July 1, 2023.
Yesterday, Senator Richard Pan also announced that he will not continue to pursue his legislative bill SB 871, which would have removed the personal belief exemption to opt-out of the required COVID-19 vaccine, due to low vaccine rates among children, and instead will focus on increasing access to the COVID-19 vaccine and expanding education awareness efforts for families.