As L.A. County prepares for a flood of participants lining up to receive the covid-19 vaccine, students begin to wonder what this will mean for LAUSD’s new school year.
“It’s not safe and appropriate when levels are so much higher than the current state guidelines to even consider reopening school classrooms,” Beutner said in a press release last Monday when speaking about the negative impact covid-19 has had on any plans of in-person learning.
The Los Angeles Times published an article on January 11 titled “L.A. students must get the covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available for them, Beutner says…”. It referenced Austin Beutner’s announcement and stated that in order to return back to campus, all students will be issued to receive the covid vaccine and those who cannot revert to online learning as per usual.
The British Medical Association concluded a case study that warned that approximately a quarter of the world’s population may not have access to the covid-19 vaccine until the year 2022. Another case study reported that an estimation of only two-thirds of adults is even willing to accept a covid-19 vaccine. Furthermore, there is not yet a covid-19 vaccine that has been proven safe and effective for children under the age of 16. And so, the Los Angeles Times article caused quite a stir among its readers.
The article was deemed to be deceiving, and the claims made in it were debunked by a letter Chief of Special Education Anthony Aguilar released the following day.
“ was misleading and, unfortunately, repeated on TV and radio before it was corrected,” Aguilar said in the letter. “We fully anticipate having students back on campus before vaccines for children are available.”
Aguilar further acknowledged the improbability of children receiving the vaccine, as it is not yet approved for all age groups. He also wrote about how it is unlikely to be accessible to every student anytime soon since the vaccine is so high in demand.
“We are working to provide vaccines to all who work in schools and, when vaccines are approved for children, to extend that opportunity for our students to receive the same protection,” said Anthony Aguilar. “There is no vaccine currently approved for children so the actual vaccination of students is likely a ways off.”
Staff on campus are already receiving the vaccine due to safety precautions. When asked about the newfound vaccine, Van Nuys High School’s principal Yolanda Gardea stated that she is anticipating receiving her vaccination.
“I am personally looking forward to my chance to take this vaccine, and I have been vaccinated against all the other diseases we have dealt with over the years,” Principal Gardea said.
The circumstances of a worldwide pandemic have brought some discomfort among teens, affecting their daily lives and academics.
“We often discuss being aware of students who are in tough situations both emotionally and physically,” Principal Gardea said when asked about what teachers are doing for students who persistently experience pandemic gloom. “We focused on the Student Advisory lessons in the Fall surrounding social and emotional issues for this very reason.”
It’s not easy adjusting to online school after being hurled into a pandemic, but Principal Gardea and her team are working to reach out to all students and aid them in their path to success.
“Our goal remains opening classrooms in schools as soon as possible, in the safest way possible,” Anthony Aguilar said. “That includes participating in a program to make sure all in the school community have access to a vaccine for covid-19.”
