California’s Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday his intentions to make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for in-person learning at public and private schools alike in the state, the first mandate of its kind.

The Daily Wire reports that the new mandate will take effect the semester following formal approval of the Covid-19 vaccines for younger age groups by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, starting with grades 7 through 12, and followed by kindergarten through grade 6, with “rare” exemptions for religious or medical reasons.

“We are all exhausted by this pandemic. We are all exhausted by this. And that is the purpose of this,” Newsom, who survived a grassroots recall effort last month, declared Friday. “We hope this encourages folks to get vaccinated … We have no trepidation, no hesitancy in encouraging local districts to move forward more expeditiously.”

In defense of the mandate, Newsom noted that “schools already require vaccines for measles, mumps and more.” But he left out the fact that the Covid-19 vaccines were developed and released far faster than any previous vaccine, and so come with a far more limited understanding of their safety, particularly for children….

The above comes from an Oct. 1 story on LifeSite News.