Los Angeles, Sep 10 : The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school system in the US, has announced that all eligible students aged 12 and older are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
According to an order approved by the school district's board of education, the fully vaccination of this group should be completed by January 10, 2022, unless they have medical or other exemptions, reports Xinhua news agency.
The school district became the largest one in the country to mandate Covid-19 vaccination for all eligible students.
LAUSD is home to more than 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at over 1,000 schools.
The district covers 1,839 square km and includes the City of Los Angeles as well as all or parts of 31 smaller municipalities plus several unincorporated sections of Los Angeles County.
LAUSD noted the latest step will provides another layer of safety in schools and the order will help reduce transmission and ensure students can remain on campus in the safest possible environment.
"The science is clear, vaccinations are an essential part of protection against Covid-19," LAUSD Interim Superintendent Megan K.
Reilly said in a statement.
The safety measures taken by LAUSD also include daily health checks for everyone going onto school campuses, masks, comprehensive Covid-19 testing, contact tracing and isolation of cases, hand sanitizer, increased sanitization and cleaning of schools, and upgraded ventilation.
School officials said LAUSD is committed to providing access to vaccinations for all eligible students and staff.
Mobile vaccination teams began visiting schools at LAUSD since August 30.
Los Angeles County is the most populous in California and the country.
The Golden State announced last month that it will implement first-in-the-nation measure to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated as schools return from summer break amid the Covid-19 Delta variant spread.
Around 3,000 LAUSD students were reportedly in isolation after testing positive for the virus in their first week of school.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
