CDC isn’t requiring COVID vaccine for school

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee on vaccines voted Thursday, Oct. 20 so as to add the COVID-19 vaccine to an inventory of advisable childhood immunizations.

Ahead of the vote, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed in a viral tweet on Oct. 18 that the CDC’s addition of the COVID-19 vaccine to its childhood immunization schedule would make it “mandatory for kids to attend school.” A video clip included within the tweet has practically 2 million views. 

VERIFY reader Jacob additionally texted the workforce to ask whether or not the COVID-19 shot is occurring a “mandatory vaccine list” for youngsters. 

Is the CDC requiring youngsters to get the COVID-19 vaccine for school?

No, the CDC isn’t requiring youngsters to get the COVID-19 vaccine for school. An advisory committee advisable the vaccine for schoolchildren, however solely states can require vaccinations.

Though the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted so as to add the COVID-19 shot to its advisable vaccine schedules for youngsters, that doesn’t imply the general public well being company is requiring the shot for college students.

In a press release, the CDC advised VERIFY that it “only makes recommendations for use of vaccines, while school-entry vaccination requirements are determined by state or local jurisdictions.”

This identical assertion is mirrored on a CDC webpage with information about state vaccination necessities. State legal guidelines that set up vaccination necessities usually apply not solely to youngsters attending public colleges, but in addition those that go to personal colleges and day care, based on the CDC.

These state legal guidelines, fairly than the federal authorities, “also establish mechanisms for enforcement of school vaccination requirements and exemptions,” the CDC says.

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In the video clip that Carlson shared, his visitor, a surgeon and professor on the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, clarifies that states make selections about vaccine necessities.

U.S. Secretary of Health Xavier Becerra additionally refuted Carlson’s declare in a tweet. The CDC’s impartial advisory group assembly is “not about vaccination requirements” and “any indication is otherwise untrue,” Becerra wrote partially.

Though the CDC advisory committee can not mandate sure vaccines, many states “align their vaccine requirements” with its suggestions, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) says. 

According to the NCSL, all 50 U.S. states have legal guidelines requiring sure vaccines for college students. All states grant exemptions to youngsters for medical causes, whereas the bulk additionally grant exemptions for non secular causes. 

As of May 25, 2022, 15 states permit philosophical exemptions for mother and father who object to their youngsters receiving sure vaccines due to private or ethical causes, or different beliefs, based on the NCSL. 

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Some states, cities, counties and school districts already required COVID-19 vaccines for youngsters in school earlier than the newest CDC resolution.

Children attending school this 12 months in Washington, D.C. are required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. California is planning to add the COVID-19 shot to its record of required vaccines, however this received’t occur till the 2023-2024 school 12 months on the earliest, according to the California Department of Public Health.  

On the opposite hand, some states have explicitly banned pupil COVID-19 vaccine mandates, a map from the National Academy for State Health Policy exhibits.

For instance, Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo stated in a tweet that whatever the CDC vote, “nothing changes in Florida” since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates in colleges and different settings. 

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