San Francisco Children Aged 5 to 11 Will Be Forced to Provide Proof of Vaccination to Enter Businesses

A 6 year-old child is comforted by her mother as she receives her first dose of the Pfizer
JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

San Francisco announced on November 2 that children aged five through eleven will soon be forced to provide proof of vaccination to gain access to indoor settings, including businesses.

The city’s announcement came the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky permitted the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children ages five to eleven, as reported by the Associated Press.

In a virtual town hall on November 2, which was posted to the city’s YouTube channel, San Francisco Public Health Officer Dr. Susan Phillip stated, “today is an exciting day,”

“We’re all very happy to have heard that the CDC has just recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages five to eleven,” Phillip added. “It’s a very exciting day.”

“People have asked me, what about the local San Francisco health orders that require vaccination to go into a restaurant or to go to a Warriors game,” Phillip stated during the meeting, as reported by KRON. “When is that going to apply to children 5 to 11? We definitely want to wait and make sure children have an opportunity to get vaccinated so that will happen no sooner than about eight weeks after the vaccine is available to kids.”

“So there will be a limited time in which there will not be those requirements as planned but at some point, 5 to 11-year-olds will also have to show proof of vaccination to access some of those same settings,” she added, per KRON. 

Currently, San Francisco requires proof of vaccination for children over 12 to gain entry to restaurants, gyms, and large indoor events, among other indoor facilities, according to the city’s website. The requirement for proof of vaccination went into effect August 20. 

“We’re requiring vaccines to protect everyone against the continued spread of COVID-19. We want to cut down the spread of COVID-19 and keep San Francisco businesses open” the city’s website states. 

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