Vaccines

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the health and policy aspects of vaccines and vaccination
Unvaccinated and vaccinated cutout people with vaccine syringe. Illustration showing 3 out of 10 not boosted.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Getty
School & District Management From Our Research Center 3 in 10 Educators Haven't Gotten a COVID Booster Shot
Some educators don't believe boosters are worth the potential side effects, or that they need one after having gotten COVID.
Mark Lieberman, May 5, 2022
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3 min read
Image of young boy wearing a mask getting a bandage applied after a vaccine.
E+
Student Well-Being & Movement Anti-Vaccine Ideology Gains Ground as Lawmakers Seek to Erode Rules for Kids’ Shots
Experts say the movement has gained momentum amid the pandemic, boosting the reach of high-profile anti-vaccine activists.
Sandy West, Kaiser Health News, April 26, 2022
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6 min read
Conceputal image of school disruptions from COVID-19, from 2020 to 2022.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images
School & District Management Forever Changed: A Timeline of How COVID Upended Schools
COVID-19 has shaken the education landscape. Here are key milestones.
Laura Baker & Education Week Staff, April 5, 2022
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1 min read
An information sign is displayed as a child arrives with her parent to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11-years-old at London Middle School in Wheeling, Ill., on Nov. 17, 2021.
A child arrives with her parent to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at London Middle School in Wheeling, Ill., in November.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement COVID Vaccine Uptake Has Stalled for Young Children. What Schools Can Do to Help
Overall, only about 1 in 5 children ages 5-11 in the United States are fully inoculated against COVID-19.
Arianna Prothero, January 24, 2022
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4 min read
Anti-vaccine mandate protesters rally outside the garage doors of the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles on Sept. 9, 2021. The Los Angeles board of education voted to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend in-person classes in the nation's second-largest school district.
Anti-vaccine mandate protesters rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters in September, 2021.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Communications Expert Explains: How to Talk to Parents About COVID Vaccination
A Johns Hopkins University expert discusses a new training project on how to communicate about the sensitive issue.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 19, 2022
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7 min read
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo last April.
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a federal vaccine mandate for large employers, including school districts in about half the states.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate Applying to Schools in Much of the Country
The justices ruled 6-3 to stay an Occupational Health and Safety Administration rule that covered schools in 26 states and two territories.
Mark Walsh, January 13, 2022
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4 min read
The Supreme Court shown Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, in Washington. The Supreme Court is taking up two major Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19 at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing two Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts High Court Appears Skeptical of Vaccine Mandate Covering Schools in Over Half the States
The Biden administration's OSHA rule applies to private employers with 100 or more workers, as well as school districts in 26 states.
Mark Walsh, January 7, 2022
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4 min read
COVID face masks and gavel
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Law & Courts Federal Judge Blocks Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate for Head Start Teachers
In a challenge by 24 states, the judge's preliminary injunction also blocks a mask mandate for Head Start students age 2 or older.
Mark Walsh, January 2, 2022
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4 min read
The Los Angeles Unified School District Interim Superintendent of Schools Megan Reilly is seen in a video feed for the media at LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles Thursday Sept. 9, 2021. The Los Angeles board of education voted Thursday to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend in-person classes in the nation's second-largest school district.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Interim Superintendent of Schools Megan Reilly is seen in a video feed for the media at LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles Thursday Sept. 9, 2021. The Los Angeles board of education previously voted to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Jan. 10 to attend in-person classes in the nation's second-largest school district.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management L.A.'s Ambitious Student Vaccine Mandate Poised to Be Pushed Back
The new deadline for students 12 and older to be vaccinated would be in fall of 2022.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2021
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3 min read
Illustration of broken umbrella only stopping some of the rain
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Equity & Diversity Opinion The Hidden Toll of Vaccine Mandates on Students of Color: What to Know
If we don’t take care, vaccine mandates could threaten a return to Jim Crow era schooling.
Tyrone C. Howard, December 9, 2021
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4 min read
Anti-vaccine mandate protesters rally outside the garage doors of the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles on Sept. 9, 2021. The Los Angeles board of education voted to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend in-person classes in the nation's second-largest school district.
Protesters rally against a COVID vaccine mandate for students outside the headquarters of Los Angeles Unified school district in September. Statewide, a COVID-19 vaccinate mandate for school attendance will begin to take effect for all of California's school districts in July.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management Teaching Unvaccinated Students Separately? This District Will Be the First to Try It
An in-person program for unvaccinated kids honors families' choice, says the superintendent. Legal experts say it would violate state law.
Catherine Gewertz, December 8, 2021
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6 min read
Teachers protest against COVID-19 vaccination mandates in New York on Aug. 25, 2021. On Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an emergency appeal from a group of teachers to block New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public school teachers and other staff from going into effect.
Teachers protest against COVID-19 vaccination mandates in New York on Aug. 25.
Mary Altaffer/AP
Teaching Profession Teachers Who Refuse to Comply With Vaccine Mandates Won't Face Consequences in Many Places
Some districts and states aren't even keeping track of how many teachers are vaccinated.
Madeline Will, November 22, 2021
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8 min read
An employee with the Hidalgo County Health Department holds out a roll of flu vaccine stickers that are used to verify who has been temperature screened Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2020, at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic on the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show grounds in Mercedes, TX.
An employee with the Hidalgo County Health Department holds out a roll of flu vaccine stickers that are used to verify who has been temperature screened at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Mercedes, Texas
Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Flu Vaccinations Among Children Are Down. That Could Spell Trouble for Schools
The convergence of flu and COVID-19 infections could exacerbate student absences and staff shortages.
Arianna Prothero, November 19, 2021
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2 min read
Doctor putting a band aid on woman's arm.
E+/Getty
School & District Management 5 Things for Schools to Know About Biden's COVID Vaccine-or-Test Mandate
A new federal workplace safety rule will require public school employees in some states to get vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19.
Evie Blad, November 4, 2021
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5 min read
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