California lawmaker scraps plan to require COVID-19 vaccinations for school children

Abill requiring California students to be immunized for COVID-19 will not move forward its author said Thursday, marking the second major piece of vaccination legislation to be pulled this year at the state Capitol before its first vote.

State Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) said he will pull from consideration Senate Bill 871, which would have added COVID-19 vaccines to California’s list of required inoculations for attending K-12 schools, prerequisites that can be only be skipped if a student receives a rare medical exemption from a doctor.

Without the bill, the state will continue with a less strict COVID-19 vaccine mandate authorized last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom, allowing parents to opt their children out based on personal beliefs.

The Democratic lawmaker introduced SB 871 in January, saying it would ensure schools can stay open while offering backup to districts such as L.A. Unified that have struggled with their own mandates. The bill, however, faced familiar backlash from anti-vaccine activists and parents who said the state should not make medical decisions for their children.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-lawmaker-scraps-plan-to-require-covid-19-vaccinations-for-school-children/ar-AAWeKyx