Dec 17, 2021 - Health

New Orleans implements indoor vaccine mandate for kids 5 and up

Kierra Frazier

A nurse puts a patch on a child after giving him the vaccine, on the first day of vaccination in Italy for children aged 5 to 11 — Photo: Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images

New Orleans announced this week an expanded vaccine mandate that requires children 5 and up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for indoor settings or have a negative test.

Why it matters: The decision comes along with a New Orleans public school system vaccine requirement for students 5 and up, the first of its kind in the United States, NOLA reports.

The big picture: New Orleans residents will be required to show proof of vaccination for at least one dose starting Jan. 3. Four weeks before Mardi Gras begins on March 1, the city will require two doses of the vaccine.

The New Orleans public school system vaccine requirement will go into effect on Feb. 1.
Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced earlier this week that the COVID-19 vaccine would be added to Louisiana's list of required immunizations for students, effective at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
New Orleans follows other cities such as Philadelphia and New York City, which have already implemented vaccine mandates for children 5 and up.
In November, the CDC endorsed a two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for kids between the ages of 5 and 11.

Go deeper: The next question for kids vaccines? School mandates

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New Orleans implements indoor vaccine mandate for kids 5 and up

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