Vaccines

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the health and policy aspects of vaccines and vaccination
Opponents of legislation that tightened rules on exemptions for vaccinations demonstrate outside the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sacramento, Calif., in Sept. 2019. Medical exemptions in California more than tripled in the three years after they became the only allowable reason for a student to be unvaccinated.
Opponents of legislation that tightened rules on exemptions for vaccinations demonstrate outside the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sacramento, Calif., in Sept. 2019.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
States How Vaccine Loopholes Could Weaken COVID Shot Mandates for Kids
For years before the pandemic, states sought to tighten loopholes in school vaccine requirements. Those efforts may now be put to the test.
Evie Blad, September 28, 2021
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9 min read
Illustration of a vaccine, medical equipment, a clock and a calendar with a date marked in red.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Some Teachers Won't Get Vaccinated, Even With a Mandate. What Should Schools Do About It?
Vaccine requirements for teachers are gaining traction, but the logistics of upholding them are complicated.
Madeline Will, September 24, 2021
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9 min read
Houston Health Department LVN Alicia Meza prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 3, at a Houston Health Department's COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
A nurse in Houston prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A federal advisory committee voted not to recommend a booster shot for K-12 school staff.
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP
Teaching Profession CDC Director Approves Booster Shots for Teachers, Reversing Panel's Decision
Workers in high-exposure jobs, including school staff, may receive a Pfizer booster shot, based on an assessment of their individual benefits and risks.
Madeline Will, September 23, 2021
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6 min read
Cole Rodriguez, a 15-year-old student at Topeka West, gets a COVID-19 vaccine Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 at Topeka High School's vaccine clinic.
Cole Rodriguez, a 15-year-old student, gets a COVID-19 vaccine at Topeka High School's vaccine clinic.
Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
School & District Management COVID Vaccines for Kids: 6 Tips for Administering the Shot in Your School
Start planning now, get help, and build enthusiasm. It's harder than it looks.
Stephen Sawchuk & Sarah Schwartz, September 22, 2021
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11 min read
The Student Council lead the creation of “sensory hallways” at Western Branch Middle School in Chesapeake, Va.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona looks on as Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks with reporters after touring Access Hawthorne Family Health Center, which is offering COVID-19 vaccines at 3040 S. Cicero Ave. in Cicero, as part of the Department of Education's "Return to School Road Trip" events in the Chicago area, Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2021.
Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP
States During Site Visit From Cardona, Illinois Governor Defends Vaccine, Testing Policies
“The testing regimen is there in order to make sure that they’re not entering the institution where they work and spreading COVID-19.”
Karen Ann Cullotta, Chicago Tribune, September 22, 2021
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3 min read
Principal and District Superintendent Bonnie Lower takes the temperature of a student at Willow Creek School as the school reopened, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Willow Creek, Mont.
Bonnie Lower, a principal and district superintendent in Willow Creek, Mont., checks the temperature of a student as Willow Creek School reopened for in-person instruction in the spring.
Ryan Berry/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP
School & District Management How 'Vaccine Discrimination' Laws Make It Harder for Schools to Limit COVID Spread
In Montana and Ohio, the unvaccinated are a protected class, making it tough to track and contain outbreaks, school leaders say.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 21, 2021
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4 min read
Mariah Vaughn, a 15-year-old Highland Park student, prepares to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during the vaccine clinic at Topeka High School on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.
Mariah Vaughn, 15, a student at Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kan., prepares to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at her school in August.
Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Educators' Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Is Rising Dramatically
Nearly 60 percent of educators say students who are old enough to receive COVID vaccines should be required to get them to attend school.

Holly Kurtz, September 16, 2021
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4 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School & District Management Opinion New Polling Shows the K-12 COVID Fights Aren’t Going Anywhere
Teachers, administrators, and school boards will continue to be squeezed between two angry, distrustful camps when it comes to COVID-19.
Rick Hess, September 13, 2021
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4 min read
Image of a band-aid being placed on the arm.
iStock/Getty
Law & Courts Can They Do That? Questions Swirl Around COVID-19 School Vaccine Mandates
With at least one large school district adopting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, here is a look at the legal landscape for such a requirement.
Mark Walsh, September 10, 2021
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5 min read
Nurse Sara Muela, left, administers the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to educator Rebecca Titus at a vaccination site setup for teachers and school staff at the Berks County Intermediate Unit in Reading, Pa., on March 15, 2021.
Nurse Sara Muela administers a COVID-19 vaccine to educator Rebecca Titus at a vaccination site for at the Berks County Intermediate Unit in Reading, Pa.
Matt Rourke/AP
Federal How Biden Will Mandate Teacher Vaccines, Testing in Some States That Don't Require Them
President Joe Biden's COVID-19 plan will create new teacher vaccination and testing requirements in some states through worker safety rules.
Evie Blad, September 10, 2021
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4 min read
In this Monday, May 24, 2021, photo high school student Alex Bugarin, 13, is vaccinated at a school-based COVID-19 vaccination clinic for students 12 and older at the LAUSD San Pedro High School John M. and Muriel Olguin Campus in San Pedro, Calif.
Alex Bugarin, 13, receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a school-based vaccination clinic in San Pedro, Calif., last May.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management COVID Vaccines Will Be Mandatory for Students in Nation's Second-Largest School District
In Los Angeles Unified, students 12 and older must be immunized to attend in person—a new layer in an already strict set of COVID protocols.
Catherine Gewertz, September 9, 2021
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9 min read
President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Washington. Biden is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant.
President Joe Biden in a speech from the White House announces sweeping new federal vaccine requirements and other efforts in an renewed effort to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Federal Biden Pushes Schools to Expand COVID-19 Testing, Get More Teachers Vaccinated
President Joe Biden set teacher vaccine requirements for federally operated schools as part of a new effort to drive down COVID's spread.
Evie Blad, September 9, 2021
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7 min read
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Aleksandr Titov/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Child Hospitalizations Spike Under Delta, Particularly in Low-Vaccination States
Nationwide, the number of children and teens hospitalized due to COVID-19 has ballooned nearly tenfold since midsummer, new CDC data show.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 3, 2021
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2 min read
In this March 2, 2021, photo, a pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Portland, Maine.
In this March 2, 2021, photo, a pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Portland, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion COVID Is Not an Insignificant Risk to Children, Explain Two Pediatricians
Policymakers, school leaders, and school districts must encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated, write two pediatricians.
Danny Benjamin & Kanecia Zimmerman, September 1, 2021
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3 min read
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