California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed a requirement for all eligible students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, even as his own daughter has yet to receive the shot.
Newsom announced on Oct. 1 that all students and school staff must be vaccinated by January 2022 – the first statewide mandate in the country. The order includes some exemptions – including one based on personal beliefs – but Newsom has not yet clarified the criteria for these exemptions.
However, he did reveal that his own daughter, 12, has yet to receive the vaccine, The Los Angeles Times reported.
"The Governor’s daughter only recently turned 12," Newsom spokesperson Erin Mellon told Fox News. "She has an appointment to be vaccinated in a manner of days."
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Newsom’s daughter turned 12 on Sept. 19, per Newsom's Twitter, and is the oldest of Newsom’s four children. The FDA and CDC recommended in May 2021 that the shot was safe for children ages 12 to 15 years old.
Newsom initially told the Times that his daughter had "a series of other shots" to get first.
The CDC notes that at the ages 11 to 12 years old a child should routinely receive the meningococcal vaccine (one dose), HPV vaccine (two doses), Tdap vaccine (one dose) and flu shot. Data suggests, though, that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe to receive at the same time as other vaccines.
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"There’s still a struggle to get to where we need to be," Newsom said about the effort to contain the pandemic. "And that means we need to do more, and we need to do better."
Students who file for an exemption will not be allowed to enroll for in-person classes on campus, and Newsom’s children have attended in-person lessons in a private school since Oct. 2020, Politico reported.
Two of Newsom’s children – who were not identified – tested positive for COVID-19, but Newsom, his wife and the other two children tested negative. Newsom has not said that his daughter had been infected when asked about plans to vaccinate her.
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Newsom has previously strayed from his own policies, such as his infamous fine-dining experience in The French Laundry, a Napa Valley three Michelin star restaurant while most of the service industry remained under significant restrictions.
He also pulled his children out of a mask-optional summer camp after at least one was photographed without a mask, The Washington Post reported. The state had required masks for all children under the age of 12 years old in public settings since they are not eligible for the vaccine.
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Mellon said at the time that the governor was "concerned" to see unvaccinated children maskless indoors and had "missed" emails from the camp that it would not enforce mask guidance.