Kids who are 12-to-15-year-olds could get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as early as Thursday in New York. The question now on many parents' minds is will their children's schools eventually mandate it?

So far, the state has not made a final decision, but New York City's schools already said it won't - but that could change once a vaccine gets full FDA approval.

The president of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers - Westchester's largest teacher’s union - agrees.

There have been nearly 4 million COVID-19 cases reported in children since the start of the pandemic - about 14% of all cases - though virtually no deaths, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, kids are known to spread the virus, which could factor in the ultimate decision.

"We're not going to promote mandatory vaccines for anybody," says Yonkers Federation of Teachers President Samantha Rosado-Ciriello

Educators like White Plains Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Ricca is looking at how well schools are currently open with only mitigation measures.

"In many instances, not all, but in many instances, we're able to return to school absent vaccinations for our youngest children, which we're demonstrating right now," he says.

Right now, K through 12th grade students in New York are required to have nearly a dozen vaccines to attend class, including hepatitis B, polio, and MMR.