California State in the US Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination for All School Staff... "Regular Testing Required as Well"

First U.S. State to Mandate Vaccination
U.S. Teachers Union Also Announces Support for Vaccination Mandate

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The state of California in the United States has announced a mandate requiring all teachers and school staff within the state to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Teachers and staff will also be required to undergo regular weekly COVID-19 testing. As the spread of the Delta variant intensifies, the vaccination mandate for school staff is expected to expand nationwide across the U.S.

On the 11th (local time), the California state government announced that the vaccination mandate administrative order for all teachers and school staff in the state will take effect from October 15. Governor Gavin Newsom stated in a press release, "All teachers and staff in elementary, middle, and high schools across the state must receive the COVID-19 vaccine and undergo regular weekly testing," emphasizing, "Vaccination is the only way for us to overcome the pandemic."

California is the first state government in the U.S. to issue a vaccination mandate for all teachers and school staff. According to this administrative order, all estimated 550,000 teachers and staff in California must be vaccinated and undergo COVID-19 testing at least once a week. Prior to this announcement, some school districts in areas such as San Francisco, Sacramento, and Long Beach within California had already implemented vaccination mandates.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a leading authority on infectious diseases in the U.S., also expressed support for California's vaccination mandate for school staff. In an interview with NBC, Dr. Fauci said, "Some people may oppose it, but mandating vaccinations for teachers is necessary," warning, "We have already lost more than 615,000 lives, and as we enter the fall season, the situation will become much more severe."

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) also expressed support for California's administrative order. Randy Weingarten, president of the AFT, stated in an interview with CNN, "More than 90% of teachers in the U.S. want to get vaccinated, and we support California's administrative order," adding, "Vaccination is the most important tool to protect people from COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.