Los Angeles students instructed to get fully vaccinated to attend schools

In a bid to make sure students can come back to schools in a safe environment, Los Angeles board of education has decided that all students above the age of 12 will have to be vaccinated.

All students who wish to attend in-person classes will have to get fully vaccinated if they are aged 12 and above.

As of now, school authorities have been regularly testing students and faculty members for Covid. Masks are compulsory indoors and outdoors for all students and employees. In addition to this, all faculty members have been asked to compulsorily get fully vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus.

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All students who participate in sports and other extracurricular activities will have to get fully vaccinated by the end of October. Other students have been given a deadline of December 19.

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"It is easy to wait for someone to tell us what to do. LA Unified is leading because we must. Our communities cannot wait," Mónica García, a board member, said before the vote. "This action is not about violating anybody’s rights. This action is about doing our job to be able to offer public schools that children can come to school and be safe."

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest in the whole country as it trains more than 600,000 students.

As the country was fighting another surge due to Delta variant, LA Unified raised their voices to keep schools closed and continue with virtual classroom, citing health concerns as a major reason.

"It is our moral, ethical, religious, political- pick a word- it’s our responsibility to protect the children under 12 who cannot get protected any other way," Board member Jackie Goldberg said.

However, some parents have opposed the move by saying it should be up to the parents to decide whether or not they would like their child to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

As of now, vaccines for children under the age of 12 have not been authorised yet.