Gov. Kathy Hochul is watching the number of COVID-19 cases among school-aged children very closely lately and says a vaccine mandate for students could be on the table.

"That is a possibility. It's on the table... As I've said all along, I want to empower parents and the schools to do the right thing first, but if we're not seeing adequate compliance or we're seeing the numbers start going up, I will have no choice," Hochul shares.

As of Oct. 27, there have been 27 new deaths reported by health care facilities through HERDS and almost 30 million total doses administered throughout the state of New York. 

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, Hochul sees this as a suitable opportunity to combat the virus across the state, right in the classroom.