(CN) — As public health officials work to get over a plateau in demand for a Covid-19 vaccine, the education system could serve as a catalyst, driving vaccination rates over the next few months.
Universities already seem to be leading the charge on requiring vaccines. Hundreds of colleges have announced that students will need to be fully vaccinated in order to attend classes in person this fall.
New York state made its announcement on Monday concerning its public university system. Two public university systems in California also said a coronavirus vaccine will be required for students, faculty and staff — totaling, between the two states, more than 1.5 million people.
Targeting college students could move the needle on a population more inclined to hold out on vaccination. About a quarter of people between ages 18 to 29 said they want to “wait and see” before getting a shot themselves, according to recent survey data.
For even younger kids who haven’t had Covid-19 vaccine access until the recent authorization of Pfizer’s vaccine for ages 12 to 15, schools are poised to play a pivotal role — regardless of whether schools decide to mandate vaccination in the future.
Vaccine Required?
Just as college requirements are contingent upon the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of Covid-19 vaccines, middle schools would likely only move toward a mandate — if at all — after the FDA approves vaccines for younger kids.
The full approval process for adolescents won’t begin for some time. Licensure applications require six months of data for the younger age group after the second vaccine doses are available.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, said during a recent press briefing that FDA approval is the main reason the state is not yet considering vaccine mandates for public schools — but it’s not the only reason.
“There’s, of course, the larger conversation about where we are in the pandemic, and how the Covid vaccine fits into not just our public health considerations, but obviously legislative, and other rule-making bodies in the state,” Ghaly said. “So, a lot to consider on this.”
As schools across the country take those factors into consideration, some experts say it's unlikely that mandates will be instated any time soon.
But schools will still play an important role in incentivizing vaccination, said Dr. Sara Bode, a primary care pediatrician and the medical director of Nationwide Children's Hospital's school-based and mobile health clinics.
“We can tie some of the benefits of vaccination to what happens in school,” Bode said.
She offered an example: If a student on a school sports team finds out that a teammate has tested positive for the coronavirus, that student no longer has to quarantine, provided they’ve been vaccinated.
“You’re still able to go to class, you’re able to play in that sport,” Bode said.
“That’s a pretty big motivator for many students,” she said, especially given 10-day quarantines following exposure last year, which disrupted weeks of learning and life for many students.
It’s likely that schools’ vaccination policies will vary across the country, as they do already.
For example, while all states require grade schoolers to get vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, only a few have mandates for the rotavirus or influenza vaccines.
Schools may also require only student athletes to get vaccinated against Covid-19, which is where some districts already draw the line.
Information for Families
Mandates aside, public schools have also been positioned as pop-up clinics and hubs for information.