by Emerald Staff
Now that all people ages 12 and older are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the City of Seattle, in partnership with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Fire Department, today announced an ambitious program to offer free no-appointment vaccinations at 52 in-school locations as well as pop-up vaccine clinics aimed at 20 private schools.
"Offering the vaccine to our younger students provides families with peace of mind that their children will be safe from catching and spreading the virus," Mayor Jenny Durkan said in an email announcement on Tuesday, May 18. "Vaccinating our students is also an issue of educational justice: We know that virtual learning does not serve families who face historic inequities. Getting kids back in school safely is critical to ensuring our youth have access to true and lasting opportunity."
The massive effort aims to reach about 17,000 students with vaccine pop-ups at every SPS middle school and high school as well as three charter schools in the system. The City says all the clinics will be operational by May 27. Each school will have a single vaccine day for the first dose and a second day two weeks later for the second dose. A detailed schedule of each school's vaccination-clinic sessions can be found on the SPS website. Remote-learning students should plan to arrive in person on their school's vaccination day — no appointment is required, but vaccination clinic times are limited.
For instance, students at Rainier Beach High School can receive a COVID-19 vaccination at an outdoor clinic on school grounds with the following schedule:
In addition, the City is establishing three pop-up clinics to serve 20 private schools in the city. Those location are as follows:
All the SPS and student vaccination sites are free, require no insurance, and no appointment is needed. However, a guardian's permission is required, and each school will email consent forms. Forms can be downloaded, printed, and signed and are also available online on the SPS "COVID-19 Vaccination Opportunities" webpage in a variety of languages, including Amharic, Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
For young people who live unhoused, are estranged from their guardians, or who are not legally emancipated, it's unclear what the process is to receive a vaccine. But in an article published last week at the Emerald, Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer at Public Health — Seattle & King County, said, "We understand that there are some youth who do not have that option [of a parent or guardian's permission], and so we do not want to systematically deny them the ability to be protected against this disease."
In addition to the school-centered program, the City of Seattle is hosting several family-focused days at its Lumen Field mass vaccination site, which will include pediatric clinicians from Swedish Medical Center as well as Seattle Seahawks-themed programming and special events. Family days at Lumen Field Event Center are:
And to better serve families who would find it more convenient to receive vaccinations on the weekend, the City, SPS, and Seattle Fire Department are opening a vaccine clinic at Franklin High School open to all students 12 and older on Saturday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
No appointments are necessary for the vaccine pop-ups at Lumen Field and Franklin High School. Students in other school districts in King County can find more information about where to receive Pfizer vaccines for those 12 and older on the following website.
Featured image is attributed to Mick Haupt on Unsplash.
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Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald™ is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With around 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald™ is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible.
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn’t have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference.
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!