Austin Beutner, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said on Monday that students will have to receive the vaccine as soon as it is available before returning to the classroom, according to a report.
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The Los Angeles Times reported that Beutner compared the change to how schools already require measles and mumps vaccines. He said he expects all students in the system to be vaccinated by January 2022.
The newspaper reported that he made the comments during a pre-recorded briefing and told parents who are skeptical about the vaccine that there is an option for “a child to keep learning online and therefore not have to return to campus”.
The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. last month is for people aged 16 and over. The test started in October on children aged 12 and should take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there is enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.
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Dr. Robert Frenck, who is the principal investigator for the Pfizer study of children at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, told the Associated Press in December that, although children are generally not very ill with COVID-19, they can spread the virus for other people.
At least 1.6 million young people were infected, 8,000 were hospitalized and 162 died of the virus, he noted.
The Times pointed out that Beutner did not suggest that schools be closed until all children are vaccinated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report