Teachers and other school staff who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer have to be tested weekly to remain on campuses after this week.
On Tuesday, State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón rescinded a public health order requiring that all school employees show proof of vaccination or be tested at least weekly.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 September 17.
The decision was made to align state and federal health guidance and because most Californians have been vaccinated against the virus, he said.
“We’ve entered a phase of the pandemic where the majority of people in these workplace settings are vaccinated, and our youngest Californians are now eligible for vaccination, too, which protects all of our communities against severe illness, hospitalization and death,” Aragón said. “While unvaccinated individuals remain at greatest risk of serious health consequences from COVID-19 infection, weekly testing of unvaccinated groups is no longer slowing the spread as it did earlier in the pandemic due to the more infectious omicron variants.”
Currently, 80% 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.
