Rescinding COVID Vaccine Mandates in Schools: A Terrible Lesson from Terrible Pandemic Policy

As the dust settles on the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is painfully clear: many of the policies intended to protect us exacted a heavy toll on our children. School closures, masking toddlers, and debates over vaccinating kids became defining issues. Now in 2025, most childhood COVID-19 vaccine mandates for schools have been rescinded or blocked, and officials are openly reconsidering earlier decisions. I write this as both a researcher and a concerned parent, reflecting on how we got here—and what we’ve learned. It’s a story of evolving science, political tug-of-war, and the impact on children who lived through an era of unprecedented disruption.

Vaccine Mandates: From Endgame to No-Go
At one point, it seemed possible that every schoolchild would be required to get a COVID shot to attend classes. In late 2021, California even announced plans to add the COVID vaccine to its list of required immunizations for K–12 students—a first in the nation. Other districts, such as those in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., signaled similar intentions. But fast-forward to today, and not a single state requires a COVID vaccine for school attendance. My blog has chronicled this dramatic reversal in policy.

On the ground, mandates proved impractical and unpopular. For example, Los Angeles’s school board initially voted to mandate vaccines for students 12 and up, only to postpone enforcement when thousands of teens failed to comply. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom quietly backed off statewide plans once it became clear that pediatric vaccination rates wouldn’t meet the necessary threshold. Instead of “no shots, no school,” the default became encouragement and, ultimately, choice for families.

Meanwhile, many states proactively banned schools from requiring the COVID vaccine. As of late 2024, over 20 states—mostly led by conservative governors—have enacted laws or issued executive orders forbidding COVID vaccine mandates in schools. This unprecedented legislative wave reflects a widespread sentiment that this new vaccine, for this population, should not be compulsory.

Note that in many states - California for example - no vaccine has made it onto the mandatory childhood immunity schedule until it was on the market for at least 16 years.

Executive Orders and Funding Firewalls
The question of who gets to decide if students must be vaccinated became intensely political. In several conservative-led states, governors used executive orders to assert that the decision was squarely in parents’ hands. For instance, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis not only barred school mask mandates in 2021 but later passed a law forbidding schools and businesses from requiring COVID vaccination. Florida’s policy sent a clear message: Florida schools will stay open, and no child will be forced to get a new vaccine. Jenny and I considered moving our family to Florida on numerous occasions during the pandemic.

Last week, a new presidential executive order—signed during President Trump’s second term—used the power of the purse by withholding federal funds from any educational institution (K–12 or college) that mandated COVID vaccination for attendance. In the order’s own words, federal money cannot “support or subsidize” any school with a COVID vaccine requirement. This move effectively ensures that even if a local school board wants to require the shot, it risks losing significant funding. It’s a remarkable turnaround from just a couple of years ago when mandating vaccination was widely promoted as the surest path back to normalcy.

The Collateral Damage to Kids
While the fight over vaccine requirements was unfolding, a bigger question loomed: What about the children? When we assess pandemic policies, no group was more affected than school-age kids. It’s jarring to look back on 2020–2022 and realize how much “normal childhood” was put on pause. Now studies are revealing the profound impacts of those years—educationally, emotionally, and physically.

• Learning Loss:
  The U.S. Department of Education reported that students in 2022 experienced the worst decline in math and reading scores in decades. In Virginia, for example, 4th-grade reading scores dropped by 13.6 points compared to 2017, marking the largest decline in state history. Nationwide, nearly 40% of 8th graders fell below basic math proficiency. The World Bank has even estimated that globally, lost learning during the pandemic could translate into as much as $17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings. These stark figures are a direct consequence of prolonged remote learning and inadequate support systems—a topic I’ve explored in detail on my blog.

• Mental Health Crisis:
  School closures meant that millions of children lost not only their classrooms but also a vital social safety net. Multiple studies have linked these closures to significant spikes in anxiety and depression among young people. In 2021, surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that over 40% of high school students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless—a record high. Emergency room visits for self-harm and suicide attempts among adolescents surged, especially among girls. As Tracy Beth Hoeg has noted in her analyses, these mental health impacts are one of the most tragic, lasting legacies of our COVID policies.

• Developmental Delays and Social Setbacks:
  Beyond academics and mental health, prolonged isolation disrupted children’s social and emotional development. Many educators observed that children, especially in early grades, missed critical opportunities for socialization and behavioral learning. Kindergarteners who missed preschool and elementary students who were isolated for extended periods are now facing challenges in developing basic social skills. This loss of routine and normal interaction will likely have long-term consequences.

It’s sobering to tally these impacts. When we consider that children are at extremely low risk of severe illness from COVID-19—comparable to the risk of being struck by lightning—the enormous sacrifices they endured seem increasingly disproportionate.

Voices in the Wilderness: Experts Who Urged Caution
Some experts warned early on that our blanket policies would harm children more than they would help. Their voices, though sometimes labeled as contrarian, now resonate with startling clarity.

• Dr. Tracy Hoeg, an epidemiologist and pediatric researcher, documented that schools were not major drivers of COVID transmission. In her blog and publications, she argued that prolonged closures were not based on solid evidence but were a political choice with devastating consequences.

• Dr. Marty Makary, a professor of surgery and health policy at Johns Hopkins, consistently pointed out that healthy children had minimal risk from COVID-19. His public commentaries emphasized that the cure should not be worse than the disease, a sentiment that is now widely accepted. His work is a reminder that overzealous mandates can sometimes cause more harm than good.

• Dr. Vinay Prasad, a respected voice in clinical epidemiology, criticized the harsh restrictions imposed on children, describing them as a “cruel, regressive experiment” driven more by adult anxiety than by science. His numerous articles and public talks have become must-reads for those questioning the logic behind prolonged school closures and blanket mandates.

• Dr. Kevin Bardosh, a global health researcher, has shown through his studies that coercive policies like vaccine mandates can erode public trust and even backfire. His research illustrates that heavy-handed approaches often create polarization and resistance rather than compliance.

These experts’ insights are not just academic—they are a clarion call to reexamine how policies are made and who they ultimately serve.

Shifting Sands: How Officials’ Positions Changed
Public health messaging during COVID did not remain static—it evolved (or flip-flopped) as new information emerged. Early in the pandemic, officials defended long school closures as a necessary measure. In retrospect, many have acknowledged that while short-term closures may have been justified, the prolonged shutdowns caused severe collateral damage.

• Dr. Anthony Fauci once defended school closures but later admitted in interviews that keeping schools closed for so long was “not a good idea.” His later comments suggest that the initial crisis management evolved into a prolonged, harmful policy.

• Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, just this week revealed that she knew from the beginning that COVID vaccines would not fully prevent transmission.

• Dr. Rochelle Walensky, former CDC Director, faced criticism for guidelines that appeared to be influenced by external pressures, including those from teachers’ unions. Though she never issued a formal apology, her acknowledgment of the CDC’s missteps has helped spur policy changes aimed at restoring public trust.

These evolving positions underscore a crucial lesson: public health policies must be nimble and honest, especially when they affect our most vulnerable—our children.

As a society, we must recognize that children are not expendable pawns in the fight against an adult disease. Their well-being should always be at the forefront of public health decisions.