The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in children ages five to 11 years old on Tuesday, providing relief to many anxious Laguna Beach students, parents, and school staffers.
The vaccine’s expanded availability impacts 1,078 five- to 11-year-olds enrolled at Top of the World and El Morro elementary schools. However, the Laguna Beach Unified School District currently doesn’t require students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“This will definitely lead to a safer holiday season and early 2022,” Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Deputy Orange County Health Officer, told reporters on Friday.
While the CDC has found vaccines’ track record at helping people avoid hospitalization in breakthrough COVID-19 infections, Chinsio-Kwong said children infected by the virus “will have long term effects that we just don’t know right now.”
Among the short-term effects already reported to health officials are memory, mood, behavior changes.
On Oct. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccinations required to attend school in-person when the vaccine receives full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for middle and high school grades. Newsom has directed the California Dept. of Public Health to follow the procedures established by the State Legislature to add the COVID-19 vaccine to other vaccinations already required for in-person attendance—such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Based on current information, the requirement is expected to apply to grades 7 to 12 starting on July 1, 2022.
“At this time we have not received any details from the Governor or CDPH as to when to expect this approval,” district spokesperson Shelley Spessard wrote in an email. “LBUSD is required to comply with all vaccine requirements and will continue to collaborate with the Orange County Health Care Agency, the O.C. Department of Education, and other O.C. school districts. The safety of our students, staff, and families is our priority.”
Stopping the spread of COVID-19 while educating children has been the goal during the pandemic, School board president Carol Normandin wrote in an email.
“We are grateful to all the employees, students, parents, and community members who are vaccinated and look forward to the day we are taking off our masks in celebration once everyone in our school community is vaccinated,” she said. “It must bring joy to young students to know they are a part of the solution out of the pandemic while protecting themselves and those they love.”
County health officials have encouraged school superintendents to start opening the conversation about COVID-19 vaccines and tell parents to consult their primary care physicians or health care systems.
