COVID-19 vaccine may be made mandatory for schoolchildren in New York by fall

New York Mayor Eric Adams said on January 9 that the city is considering mandating COVID vaccinations for all schoolchildren from fall 2022. As reported New York Daily NewsAdams said he met with healthcare professionals to determine if such an option was warranted and how effective it might be.

“In this country, we demand that vaccinations from smallpox, measles and other diseases, - said Adams. - Therefore, regarding COVID-19, we also need to engage in dialogue in order to teach our parents to understand the importance of this step. We still have time until autumn and we must use it to educate our parents. "

At the same time, Adams stressed that the issue of introducing the requirement for compulsory vaccination of schoolchildren against COVID-19 has not yet been finally resolved, and he is still consulting with specialists.

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At the moment, in New York, a record number of schoolchildren are out of school due to the omicron strain of the coronavirus, which has caused a spike in the incidence of COVID-19 among children. Citywide school attendance, which averaged nearly 90% for most of the fall, fell to 69% between December 20-23 and January 3-7.

Adams does not support the demands of some parents and teachers for the city to return to distance learning.

“The safest place for children is in the school building,” he said. "We don't want to prevent children from entering this building."

Adams also did not support the decision to mandate weekly COVID tests for students. He stated that some parents do not want their children to participate in this.

When asked if the school year should be extended to compensate for the loss of knowledge during the pandemic, Adams was evasive.

“We're going to sit down with my new school chancellor and learn how we can start catching up,” the mayor said.