A COVID-19 vaccine clinic may be coming to your child’s school

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine for your children may soon be as simple as taking them to school.

Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 to15, a number of school districts in Will County are either planning to host vaccine clinics or are giving the concept serious consideration.

Katie Weber, emergency response coordinator at the Will County Health Department, said in an email that the health department reached out to schools to gauge their interest at hosting vaccination clinics at their schools and then sent schools a survey.

“We received response from 12 school districts so far and are in the beginning stages of scheduling some of those clinics,” Weber wrote. “Jewel Osco is also assisting in doing clinics in schools.”

Jim Blaney. director of community relations at Valley View Community Unit School District 365U in Romeoville and Bolingbrook, said in an email that the district is encouraging VVSD community members to get vaccinated at the community sites that offer the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the school district is also finalizing details with the Will County Health to host its own vaccine distribution for students and their families, Blaney said.

“Our target for this would be in the month of June: first dose early in June, second dose by the end of the month,” Blaney wrote.

Todd Koehl, superintendent of Troy Community School District 30-C, said in an email the district did respond to the Will County Health Department about a vaccine distribution at Troy.

“(We) let them know that we would provide space for the county to conduct a clinic run by their staff,” Koehl wrote.

Lane Abrell, superintendent at Plainfield Community Consolidated District in Plainfield, said the district completed the survey and is considering partnering with the the health department to offer a vaccine clinic after June 5.

“Currently, with only three weeks left in our school year and over 15,000 students in grades 6 to 12 – located at 12 locations – the logistics of scheduling multiple vaccine clinics is problematic,” Abrell said in an email. “If we offer a clinic in the summer, it would be centrally located or offered at one or two sites in the district.”

Joliet Public Schools District 86 is currently surveying its junior high school families, according to Sandy Zalewski director for communications and development at District 86. Joliet Township High School District 204 is currently surveying its families, too.

The District 204 website said, “The Will County Health Department has reached out to determine the number of students, ages 12 to 18 years old, who would be interested in receiving the vaccine at a community health clinic housed at Central campus… the clinic is open to all 12 to 18 year olds residing in Will County...students younger than 18 must have parent/guardian approval to obtain the vaccine.”

The District 86 survey must be completed by the end of the day Friday, Zalewski said. The District 204 survey must be completed by 3 p.m. May 17.

Access the District 86 survey at bit.ly/3hjmZp8 and the District 204 survey at bit.ly/33Jjf8e.