Tuesday State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon rescinded a public health order requiring that all school employees show proof of vaccination or be tested at least weekly. The new policy is effective Saturday.
EdSource reportsthe decision was made to align state and federal health guidance and because most Californians have been vaccinated against the virus, he said.
Currently, 80 percent of California residents 12 years of age and older have had the first two vaccinations that make up the primary series of vaccines, according to a press release from the health department. Just under half have received their first booster. The department did not say how many California residents have had the second booster.
Despite those high vaccination numbers, Omicron subvariants have infected vaccinated as well as unvaccinated people, although vaccinated people are less likely to be infected or to become seriously ill.
Last August California became the first state in the nation to require all school staff to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 or to be tested weekly, although several individual school districts in the state had already instituted that requirement.
