Should schools require the COVID vaccine? Many experts say it's too soon
The vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 is well under way: The White House announced this week that an estimated 10 percent of children in that age group have received their first shot.
California has become the first state to announce that it will add this vaccine to its list of the shots required for all school children. And a handful of districts in 14 states are making similar moves, starting with mandates for student-athletes to participate in sports.
Because almost every child attends school, vaccine mandates have been uniquely effective against diseases like smallpox, polio, pertussis, and most recently chickenpox. But school mandates have also always brought pushback â and that has intensified to a new level in the 21st century.
"Vaccines have been controversial since the
