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Pawtucket and BV Community Health Care set school COVID vaccinations, ages 5+
The City of Pawtucket, Pawtucket School Department, and Blackstone Valley Community Health Care are partnering to provide COVID-19 vaccination opportunities at local schools.
The goal of the partnership is to continue to provide vaccination opportunities for the school-age population in Pawtucket, however, the clinic will be open to anyone who is eligible for a vaccine.
“We know that continuing vaccination efforts is important to keeping our community safe against COVID-19,” said Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “We appreciate the partnership to provide these opportunities for our students and families.”
“The COVID 19 vaccines are the most closely studied in medicine, and we Primary Care Providers at BVCHC highly recommend them to protect children against COVID19,” Dr. Cristina Pacheco, MD. “I vaccinated my children – and I recommend you do too!”
“The health and well-being of our students is our number one priority,” said Pawtucket Superintendent of Schools Dr. Cheryl McWilliams. “We all need to do our part to make sure our schools are safe. Access to vaccination clinics is a critical step to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be vaccinated.”
Vaccination stations will be located at Cunningham Elementary located at 40 Baldwin Street and Slater Middle School located at 281 Mineral Spring Avenue.
First dose clinics are set for Tuesday, May 17th and Thursday, May 19th from 3pm to 5pm
Second dose clinics set for Tuesday, June 7th and Thursday, June 9th from 3pm to 5m.
A parent or guardian is required for vaccination of school-age individuals.
For more information or if you have any questions, visit www.pawtucketri.com/covid19 or contact Public Health and Equity Leader Elizabeth Moreira at [email protected].
From the CDC on why children and teens should be vaccinated:
Just like adults, children and teens can get very sick from COVID-19. Children may also experience both short- and long-term health problems, and spread COVID-19 to others, including at home and school.
There is no way to tell in advance how children or teens will be affected by COVID-19. However, those with underlying medical conditions or who have a weakened immune system are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19.
Those without underlying medical conditions can also experience severe illness. In fact, almost half of children younger than 18 years old hospitalized with COVID-19 have no underlying conditions.
Children and teens who have already had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated. Emerging evidence indicates that people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after having been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. So even if a child has had COVID-19, they should still get vaccinated. Read the science about immunity from COVID-19 infection and vaccination.