California will soon require all public school students age 12 to 17 years old to get the COVID-19 vaccine once the shot is fully authorized by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announced the new emergency order on Friday while visiting a middle school in San Francisco.

The COVID-19 vaccine will now join a list of 10 other vaccinations required for children to attend school in the state.

The governor said the state will issue the mandate in the next school term following the FDA’s authorization, the earlier being January 1, 2022 and the latest being July 1, 2022.

At that same time, staff members at all California schools will also need to be fully vaccinated. The state issued a mandate in August for teachers and school staff members, but now it has eliminated the option to submit to regular COVID-19 testing in place of getting the vaccine.

Source: California to require public school students age 12-17 to get COVID vaccine – ABC7 Los Angeles