NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — With rising COVID-19 diagnoses among New York's youngest, Democratic state Sen. Brad Hoylman announced legislation on Tuesday to counter this trend with "a no-brainer" solution.
Hoylman is seeking to add immunization against COVID-19 to the list of vaccines children are required to receive to attend school in the state, which would go into effect 30 days after FDA and CDC approval.
“We’re at 19 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and hospitalizations for children sick with COVID-19 are currently at a record high," he said. "We must do everything we can to make sure there never is a pediatric ICU bed shortage in New York State, and that means requiring immunization against COVID-19 for school children once we know they are safe and effective."
State law requires children attending both public and private schools to get immunized against 12 different illnesses — including polio, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella and Hepatitis b.
Hoylman, who represents areas of Manhattan, touted his previous support for vaccines and student immunization requirements in his announcement.
Amid reinfections, and the need to quickly achieve herd immunity in order stop the pandemic, Hoylman argued it would be vital to inoculate students "once we know they are safe and effective."
"Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren are due back in class in just a few weeks, we need to make sure that they're protected and that they protect others who they come in contact with," Hoylman told WCBS 880.
If passed, Hoylman's bill would likely go beyond the mandate that Gov. Kathy Hochul said she could likely seek — requiring school personnel to get vaccinated or get tested weekly.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi told WCBS 880's Kevin Rincon at a vaccine awareness campaign in Times Square that for now, mandates are seen as a last resort.
Currently, the focus is on getting more people vaccinated and spreading awareness.
"We need to get as many people who are eligible for the vaccine vaccinated and that's particularly true for people who are 12 and older, our kids who are eligible for vaccination right now," Chokshi said.
He said the city will continue to offer incentives first, but once they feel those efforts aren't enough, things could change.
"That first step is to lower barriers to accessing vaccination as much as possible. The next step has been making sure that people have the right incentives to actually go and get vaccinated," Chokshi said. "After that point is when mandates, you know, are considered to get vaccination rates as high as possible."
Those incentives have been working, according to Chokshi.
"We're at over 300,000 kids who have been vaccinated across New York City thus far, we want to push that number as high as it could possibly go," Chokshi said.