Schools take lead role in promoting vaccines for youngsters

With the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children, many elementary schools around the U.S. are preparing to offer the shots, which educators see as key to keeping students learning in person and making the classroom experience closer to what it once was.

Massachusetts education and public health officials are “strongly” encouraging school districts and local officials to “take an active role” in COVID-19 vaccinations for kids younger than 12.

Some district leaders say offering vaccine clinics on campus, with the involvement of trusted school staff, is key to improving access and helping overcome hesitancy — particularly in communities with low overall vaccination rates.

Still, many school systems are choosing not to offer elementary schools as hosts for vaccination sites after some middle and high schools that offered shots received pushback.

The Biden administration plans to send a letter to U.S. elementary schools in the next week asking them to host clinics. The Education Department is also urging schools to host town halls and webinars at which parents can talk to doctors about the vaccine.

Districts that have held or are planning clinics for younger children span from Alaska to Vermont, said Hayley Meadvin, an Education Department senior adviser. Where schools choose not to host clinics, families can turn to doctor’s offices, hospitals and other sites.

“There are many points of access, and there’s no wrong door, honestly,” Meadvin said.

School vaccine drives have faced pushback and protests in Ohio and elsewhere, and some opponents say they plan to keep up pressure as the focus of the vaccination effort shifts to younger students.

Sarah Kenney, who represents the group Mainers for Health and Parental Rights, argues that schools should not be getting involved or even talking to young children about the vaccine. She worries about its newness and potential for long-term side effects.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

Kenney also expressed concern about stigma against children who do not get vaccinated.

“These conversations and personal decisions have been difficult enough to navigate for adults, we shouldn’t be putting this on our kids,” she said.

Parents are required to give authorization for their children’s shots. The vaccines are typically administered before or after school in partnerships with local hospitals and government health officials.

Liz Hamel, the vice president of opinion and survey research at KFF, a nonprofit that studies health-care issues, said their recent surveys show parents are more likely to accept vaccine information from their pediatrician than from government or educational sources.