Schools play a leading role in promoting vaccines for young people

With the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for young children, many elementary schools across the United States are preparing to provide shots. We see this as the key for educators to let students learn directly and bring their classroom experience closer to what they were before.

For some district leaders, providing a vaccine clinic on campus with the involvement of trusted school staff can improve access and overcome hesitation, especially in communities with low overall vaccination rates. It states that it is a useful key to.

Still, many school systems have chosen not to offer primary school as a host of vaccination sites after some middle and high schools that provided shots received pushbacks.

More than 250 families have enrolled in the vaccination that began Thursday at an elementary school in Duluth, Minnesota. The school organized a clinic shortly after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention granted final approval for Pfizer’s child-sized COVID-19 shots for children aged 5-11. ..Director John Magus vaccination “Game changer”.

“This takes us one step closer to the transition from a pandemic to endemic disease,” says Magus. “As long as safety allows, we can rethink social distance, masking, etc.”

The Biden administration will send a letter next week asking elementary schools in the United States to host a clinic. The Ministry of Education also urges schools to host city halls and webins where parents can talk to their doctors about vaccines.

Haley Meadbin, senior adviser to the education department, said the districts that have held or planned clinics for young children span from Alaska to Vermont. If the school chooses not to host the clinic, the family can go to the clinic, hospital or other location.

“There are many access points, and to be honest, there are no wrong doors,” says Meadvin.

In Ohio, some school districts offered on-site clinics for older students, but Rick Lewis, director of the Ohio Board of Education Association, plans a clinic for younger students. Said that he would not contact me. He said the CDC encourages districts to consider factors such as local needs for school clinics and appropriate community support.

School vaccination drives are facing backlash and protests in Ohio and elsewhere, with some opposition saying they plan to continue to put pressure on younger students as the focus of vaccination shifts. ..

Sarah Kenney, who represents the Mainers for Health and Parental Rights group, argues that schools should not be involved in vaccines or talk to infants. She is worried about its newness and potential long-term side effects.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found that the vaccine was nearly 91% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infection. The FDA has concluded that 3,100 vaccinated children are safe.

Kenny also expressed concern about the stigma of unvaccinated children.

“These conversations and personal decisions were difficult enough to navigate for adults, we shouldn’t put this on our children,” she said.

Parents must give permission for shots of their children. Vaccines are usually given before and after school in collaboration with local hospitals and government health authorities.

Chicago Public Schools, the third largest district in the country, canceled the school on November 12, giving parents the opportunity to vaccinate their children on a care provider or school-based site.

In Portland, Oregon, vaccines will be offered starting next week at eight primary schools in poor areas where families are likely to face barriers such as access to medical care and transportation, Guadalupe Guerrero said.

Following California’s decision to mandate vaccines for children, Portland is in a district that is considering the same. A recent school board to discuss that possibility was confused by a group of protesters. As a result, the vaccine clinic is guarded and the date and time will not be disclosed outside the community, said Courtney Westling, district government director.

“Schools are a trusted community hub,” she said. “In general, families feel very secure on these school sites, and they don’t even ask for ID or insurance cards. Don’t be afraid of ICE appearing. We just We’re trying to get people vaccinated, so we can put some of this behind us and bring it back to normal. “

In Hartford, Connecticut, school supervisor Leslie Torres Rodriguez said the vaccination clinics planned with local hospitals would include school nurses trusted by the family. .. Only one-third of students over the age of 12 in the district are vaccinated.

“We take a fair position here and think about accessing and removing potential barriers that families have,” she said.

School director Walter Willett, near Tolland, Connecticut, said his school district is also working with healthcare providers such as UConn Health to provide vaccines to young students on school grounds. He said vaccines are important not only for sending children to school, but also for teachers, janitor and other staff who tend to be more at risk.

“When children aren’t in or out of the classroom in quarantine, they can work more effectively,” he said.

Lizhamel, vice president of opinion research and research at KFF, a non-profit organization that studies health care issues, said a recent study suggests that parents may accept vaccine information from pediatricians rather than government or educational institutions. It says it is expensive.

“And one thing that teenagers found was that most parents didn’t want the school to be vaccinated, but the school provided information and vaccinated students. If so, those parents were more likely to say that their child was vaccinated, “she said.

Nine-year-old Sambare, who lives in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, said he had been annoying his parents for months when asked when the vaccine was available.

“For now, you can’t go to a restaurant without it,” he said. “You can’t enter the store without a mask. You can’t do much.”

Sam’s quest is about to end. His mother says his shot is currently scheduled for Wednesday.

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Associated Press writer Colin Binkley of Boston and Michael Melia of Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.