Should COVID Vaccine Be Required For VA Students? Take The Survey

VIRGINIA — State employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Virginia, as well as school staff and high school athletes in select districts. Should school children be next on the list?

Regardless of how you feel about compulsory vaccination, it hasn't really been logistically possible to impose the jab in schools. No federally approved coronavirus vaccine exists for children younger than 12.

However, Pfizer announced in September that its vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11, and it is now requesting authorization of its vaccine for ages 5 to 11. The clinical trial used smaller doses of the vaccine for children than the doses given to adults.

If approved, the new age cohort would add another 28 million people in the United States to the vaccine eligibility pool.

Currently, adults and students ages 12 and older are eligible for the vaccine. As reported by the Virginia Mercury, Gov. Ralph Northam has said a statewide vaccine mandate for school staff and students would be up to the Virginia General Assembly. A petition for a mandate for staff and students was submitted to the Virginia Department of Health and garnered thousands of public comments.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that once a vaccine is approved by the FDA for younger children, all public and private students will be required to be vaccinated to attend in-person classes.

What do you think? Should Virginia follow a similar path? Take the Patch survey below and let us know. The anonymous survey will be open until 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15.

This survey is meant to be an informal collection of Virginians' opinions. It is not a scientific survey and its results should not be used as such.

If you cannot see the form below, click here.