Kansas 'not planning' to require COVID-19 vaccine for school attendance, despite CDC move

Kansas officials have reiterated they have no plans to require the COVID-19 vaccine for school attendance, despite a move by federal officials to place the shots on the childhood vaccination schedule last week.

The action, taken by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, does not compel Kansas or any other state to require the shots for school attendance, despite fears from some conservatives immediately after the decision.

Many states, including Kansas, consider the committee's recommendations when making the decision as to which vaccines to require, but it is not a given that including an immunization on the schedule will mean it will be required to attend Kansas schools.

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For instance, the CDC recommends adolescents receive the two-dose vaccine against human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, but the shot is not compulsory for students to attend classes in Kansas, nor is the annual flu shot.

Anywhere from five to eight vaccines are required for school attendance, depending on the grade and age. That includes vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella, Hepatitis B, tetanus and chickenpox and that list has only been updated three times in the past 40 years.

KDHE says 'no plans' to add COVID vaccine requirement

There are no plans to add the COVID-19 vaccine to that list, Matt Lara, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in an email.

"KDHE is not planning to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the childhood vaccination schedule for Kansas children," Lara said. "We do not anticipate any other impact to the state following the ACIP meeting last week."

If a vaccine is to be required, the agency would have to follow the typical rulemaking process, allowing for public comment and legislative input. A list of vaccines to be required for the next school year is usually provided to districts in February.

Gov. Laura Kelly had previously said it was "premature" to have any discussions about the merits of requiring the COVID-19 vaccine until it was fully approved for all ages by the Food and Drug Administration and, even then, she did not commit to her administration making it mandatory.

The FDA has granted full approval for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for kids 12 years and older. There is no timeframe for full approval for younger age groups.

More:COVID vaccine requirement for Kansas students? Gov. Laura Kelly says it's premature to speculate.

Derek Schmidt criticizes Laura Kelly veto over school COVID vaccine bill

Still, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is Kelly's Republican opponent in the governor's race this fall, said in a statement that "no Kansas student will ever be forced to receive a COVID vaccine in order to attend school — not on my watch.”

"The choice to give a child the COVID vaccine should be made by that child’s parents and the parents alone,” Schmidt said.

He also took Kelly to task for vetoing Senate Bill 34, which would have barred the KDHE secretary from requiring any vaccine or test that had not received full FDA approval and Schmidt said he would support such a measure.

It is likely that such a proposal — or even a further reaching measure — will be considered when lawmakers return to Topeka in January.

More:Kansas Republicans on mission to fulfill COVID special session promise with stronger legislation

Bills considered this year would have banned the KDHE secretary from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine at all, while another would have given the power to require shots for school attendance to the Legislature.

Another measure, Senate Bill 541, would have prevented school districts from requiring people to report their vaccination status on all vaccines.

Few states have moved yet to require the vaccines in schools. Washington, D.C., has made the COVID-19 shots mandatory for ages that have received full FDA approval, while a similar measure in California won't take effect until at least 2023.

More:Only 4.4% of youngest Kansas children vaccinated against COVID: 'It's certainly sad. It's tragic'

According to KDHE data, 56.9% of all children age 12-17 have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, though those numbers drop precipitously for the youngest kids, with only 6.7% of children ages 5 and younger receiving the shot.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: COVID vaccine won't be required for Kansas schools after CDC vote