All Californians 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning April 15 according to new California guidelines, allowing many upper school students to be vaccinated. In addition, all adults above the age of 50 starting April 1 as the state receives more doses from the federal government.

Head of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Ari Engelberg ’89 said that it is difficult to determine whether widespread vaccine eligibility will increase the possibility of a return to a more traditional school environment.

“It’s great that many high school students will soon be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine as it will help ensure the health and safety of our school community and will bring our larger Los Angeles community closer to herd immunity,” Engelberg said. “However, it’s not clear that student eligibility for the vaccine will have an immediate impact on our return to school.”

Joey Schoenberg ’22, who was vaccinated due to health reasons, said that being vaccinated makes him feel more comfortable returning to school.

“Since I have an underlying condition, having the vaccine has made it so that I can feel safe being out and around people, while still wearing a mask,” Schoenberg said.

In an email, Engelberg said the school hosted a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for teachers and staff and are in the process of organizing one for eligible students.

“We have already hosted a vaccine clinic for teachers and staff and will do so again in a few weeks for employees who need their second dose,” Engelberg said. “I am working with a couple of different vaccine providers to arrange a vaccine clinic on campus for students who are eligible. There’s nothing official yet, but we’ll definitely alert our community as soon as we have something in place.”

Rafael Singer ’21, who was vaccinated through his employment, said that he is pleased with the school’s efforts to make it easier for students to gain access to vaccinations.

“I definitely think this makes it more convenient for students to get vaccinated,” Singer said. “The school did a great job making testing easily accessible and convenient so I think this will be very similar. Also, as someone who is vaccinated, I’m glad the school is making a concerted effort at getting everyone vaccinated so we can return to normal as soon as possible.”