Sunday Marks Deadline For LAUSD Student Athletes To Receive First Dose Of COVID Vaccine
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The deadline for Los Angeles Unified School District student-athletes to get vaccinated is fast approaching.
Students who are 12 and older must be at least partially vaccinated by this Sunday if they want to participate in extracurricular programs in person.
Students must receive their second dose by October 31. Some parents and students however remain hesitant.
Leo Hernandez is the cross country and track coach at Monroe High School.
He says both his boy's and girl's teams are highly ranked in their divisions.
"We have almost the majority of the team vaccinated. I'm waiting on two kids to get vaccinated," Hernandez said. "The thing is I feel bad for the students because they're going to miss out"
Heather Cioffi is an LAUSD mom with two sons who play high school baseball.
"I was not in favor of the mandate, more so because I wasn't ready," she said.
Most of their teammates are already inoculated. This week, their family decided to move forward.
"I told them, 'I'm going to go ahead and have you get the vaccine but I'm going to be praying about it,'" Cioffi said.
The district put out a video to emphasize the benefits of vaccination as all students 12 and up will be required to get their first dose by November 21.
"Getting the vaccine is one thing all of those 12 and older can do to stop the spread so that we can stay on campus together," AUSD Student Board Member Parishi Kanuga said in the video.
Hernandez says he's seen the effectiveness of vaccination in this part of the San Fernando Valley which was hit hard by the pandemic.
"Last year, a lot of the students were affected by it and versus this year, you don't really see it as much," he said.
Students are able to get vaccinated district-wide Monday through Saturday without an appointment.
To find a location, visit LAUSD.net.
