The rapid spread of omicron across the nation — and the finding that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease — brings COVID-19 one step closer, perhaps, to truly earning its place on the list of diseases that have been tamed by vaccines. These include polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, all of which most kids must generally be vaccinated against before they enter school or day care. Some states have announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements for certain students.
But not everyone agrees that vaccine mandates for children are the way forward. Sen. Rand Paul, who has opposed vaccine mandates, called omicron “nature’s vaccine.” Seventeen mostly Republican-led states have proactively banned, in some form, COVID-19 vaccine requirements for students. Resistance to adopt mandates has profound repercussions, especially as vaccination rates among kids ages 5 to 11 remain alarmingly low — under 15 percent in some states — even though children 5 and over have been eligible for shots since last fall.
History holds lessons for why low vaccination rates for children are so risky and why officials should strongly consider school mandates for the COVID-19 vaccine.
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