Los Angeles Unified School District is taking a big step by voting to mandate coronavirus vaccines for students aged 12 and up, prompting some Bay Area school districts to consider it as well.
It could be happening in Oakland sooner than we think.
Sam Davis, the Vice President of the Oakland School Board has submitted a proposal Wednesday that would mandate students in Oakland also be vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Vaccination is really one of the best tools we have in the toolbox to limit outbreaks at our schools and to keep our teenagers safe and in school learning," Davis said.
In Oakland, 73 percent of adolescents have had at least one shot, according to Davis, "which is pretty good. but, you know, pretty good is not good enough."
While anti-vax sentiment is low in the Bay Area, he wants to make sure he hears any community concerns before the proposal is discussed at the next City Council meeting on Sept. 22.
There have been some protests among parents and members of the Oakland Education Association about current COVID testing protocols for Oakland schools.
If passed, Davis doesn't want to ensure the measure isn’t punitive. "There probably needs to be some exceptions. It might not be 100 percent. There's definitely going to need to be medical exceptions. I think some people have said, should we have an exception for religious belief?" said Davis.
Across the Bay, San Francisco Unified School District President Gabriela Lopez said that while she would support a mandate, it doesn’t seem necessary with their vaccination rates so high. About 95% of San Francisco teenagers have been vaccinated.
As for the students in Oakland, while the proposal is going to be heard in a couple of weeks, Davis isn’t sure the mandate would be ready to vote on by then.
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