Now that COVID-19 vaccines are a step closer to being authorized for children aged 5-11, could New York impose a vaccine mandate to attend public schools?

Gov. Kathy Hochul said that’s a “possibility.”

A Food and Drug Administration panel on Tuesday endorsed authorizing the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for that age group. Hochul said Wednesday that the state has been preparing for some time for inoculations for elementary school-aged children.

Any decision on a mandate for schools will not come in the immediate future, Hochul said.

“I want to empower parents and the schools to do the right thing first,” the governor said.

“If I start seeing infection rates going up, hospitalizations going up, more children being affected, I will have no choice,” Hochul continued. “But right now, the numbers are good, get the kids voluntarily vaccinated, parents hopefully do the right thing and I’ll keep an eye on that situation.”

Currently, to attend public schools, New York requires vaccinations for

• Diphtheria and Tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine and Pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap)
• Hepatitis B
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR)
• Polio
• Varicella (Chickenpox)

Additionally, a Tdap vaccine is required for students in grades 6-12 and a meningococcal conjugate for those in grades 7-12.

As of right now, California is the only state to have added COVID-19 to its list of required public school shots, which will go into effect for the 2022-2023 academic year.