The school district is strongly encouraging, but not mandating, that students ages 5 to 11 get the shot. Older students ages 12 to 18, are required to do so. Toni Guinyard reports for Today in LA on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.
Students between the ages of 5 and 11 can now get vaccinated at one of 13 school-based clinics hosted by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The locations, which open between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. Tuesday morning to start offering shots to young children, have already been offering the shots to students 12 and older. Those older students are required by LAUSD to get their COVID-19 vaccinations by Jan. 10, 2022.
LAUSD is not requiring the younger students to get vaccinated, but it is strongly encouraging them to do so.
One local district, LA Unified Central, started a campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccinations by tapping into student creativity.
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Students were challenged to create their own versions of the NFL's "We've Got Your Back" spot. Each video reminds students 12 years old and older of the Jan. 10, 2021 deadline for full vaccination.
Those efforts to get students vaccinated are taking on greater urgency as COVID cases spike again. LA County Public Health shared that teenagers 12 to 17 years old have the highest COVID case rate of all age groups.
The school-based clinics will supplement the district's mobile vaccination effort, launched the week of Nov. 8.
Appointments at the clinics can be made using LAUSD's DailyPass app.
