School employees, including those in O.C., required to have vaccines, according to new state mandate

State officials announced Wednesday that all school employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof or submit to being tested for the disease on a weekly basis.

The public health order will take effect Thursday, but schools will have until Oct. 15 to become compliant.

In his announcement, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the move to require vaccinations of all school staff — meaning not only credentialed staff, but classified — aligns with the state’s strategy. Newsom recently announced that state employees and healthcare workers would also be required to be vaccinated.

“We think this is the right thing to do and we think this is a sustainable way to keeping our schools open and to address the No. 1 anxiety that parents like myself have ... and that is knowing that the schools are doing everything in their power to keep our kids safe, to keep our kids healthy,” said Newsom.

California health officials said that the state is currently experiencing the fastest growth of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began last year with cases averaging at around 22.7 new cases per 100,000 people daily. Cases, they say, have skyrocketed since June.

State officials also said that almost all students in kindergarten through sixth grade will not be eligible for vaccines by the start of the upcoming school year. Less than 41% of Californians between the ages of 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated.

In Orange County, 612 new cases were reported on Wednesday and about 495 cases are currently hospitalized. At least 96 of those are currently in intensive care units. Data shows that the county’s adjusted daily case rate has risen to 19 cases for every 100,000 residents and testing positivity rates to 8.3%.

At least 1.9 million residents are fully vaccinated in Orange County.

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