The fading winter surge and rising vaccination rates certainly warrant some easing of mask mandates and other precautions. But the importance of keeping schools open and functional justifies retaining the added protection of masks while so many young Californians remain unvaccinated.
More than a third of California children ages 12 to 17 and over two-thirds of 5- to 11-year-olds are not fully vaccinated, according to state data, and vaccines remain unavailable to children under 5. The proportion of the school-age population without a single vaccine dose is at least twice the rate among adults.
The governor's porous COVID vaccination requirement for schoolchildren, which awaits full rather than emergency Food and Drug Administration approval and allows families to opt out based on personal beliefs, has yet to take effect. And the Legislature has just begun considering a sensible bill by state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, to add COVID to the list of legally required school vaccinations, which would limit exemptions to legitimate medical reasons.
