COVID-19 Vaccine

Memo to School Leaders
CDC COVID Vaccine Policy and Schools
October 21, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) committee concerning the use and recommendation of vaccines met on October 20, 2022, and unanimously voted to add COVID-19 vaccination to their routine immunization schedule for children starting at six months of age.  This recommendation brings significant weight to setting norms for what vaccines children should receive and when. States have previously used the CDC’s recommendations to set their own vaccine schedule in many jurisdictions. This change will go into effect for 2023 and will be the recommended standard sent to medical facilities and doctors nationwide.

The CDC’s action does not mandate COVID-19 vaccines for children nationwide; rather, it is a powerful proposal for states to adopt the recommendations as normative.  That action will, however, give states already seeking to adopt COVID-19 vaccinations as part of their vaccine schedule the ability to do so sooner than later. Twenty-one states have enacted partial or total prohibitions on student COVID-19 vaccine mandates. States have been waiting for full Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the COVID-19 vaccines for children before taking further action.  To date, no COVID-19 vaccine has full FDA approval for those under age 12. All COVID-19 vaccinations approved for younger children are approved only under emergency use authorization. 

The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is disappointed to learn of the CDC’s premature recommendation for COVID-19 vaccinations to be mandated for children six months old and up as part of the CDC’s normal and ongoing vaccine schedule as opposed to their previously limited duration, emergency use.  ACSI believes vaccines can be a significant societal good.  However, such a call for a permanent addition to childhood vaccine schedules is premature without full scientific and public vetting.  We believe parents remain in the best position to determine if their own children are in need of the emergency use vaccines.

School communities who do not want to see the COVID-19 vaccinations added to their state’s vaccine schedule should begin working with their parents to make their voices heard.  Regrettably, this has become primarily a political problem and will require a political solution.  Most state vaccine schedules are created by your state’s legislature or department of health, under the administration of your state’s governor.  These are the bodies of authority to which your school community should be reaching out in the event this is a concern for your school and community.  To wait until a mandate is passed in your state is to wait too long. 

School communities who are in favor of the vaccine mandate likely need do nothing more. Current political trends point in this direction at the moment.

ACSI remains committed to serving its member schools and seeks to assist schools in navigating difficult areas of society and culture.  ACSI will continue to keep you updated and resourced.