State OKs vaccine mandate for schoolchildren

California will enact the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, aiming to have all students in seventh through 12th grades vaccinated by next fall once the shots gain final federal approval for everyone 12 and over.

The Democratic governor said he expects the U.S. government to give that final sign-off sometime next year, bumping up from the emergency authorization given now for those 12 to 15.

He said the state will require students in kindergarten through sixth grades to get the vaccine once final federal approval comes for children 5 to 11.

“We have to do more,” Newsom said during a news conference at a San Francisco middle school after visiting with some seventh-graders. “We want to end this pandemic. We are all exhausted by it.”