Districts plan to vaccinate teens

With vaccination appointments opening Thursday to everybody age 16 and older, at least one local community is considering a special vaccine clinic just for high school students.

Ansonia officials said this week they plan to reach out to students and parents to see if there is interest in a student-only vaccination event so teens could get inoculated in time for prom in May and graduation in June.

“It's something that has been mentioned and has been talked about. I mean, we've already done it for our teachers, and something we could do for our students as well,” said Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said.

According to DiBacco, the district is also reaching out to Derby schools, attempting to coordinate vaccinations between the two cities. The two communities held joint teacher-only vaccine clinics in March. “It's something that we're looking at,” he said.

While there are no plans to make the vaccine mandatory for students, DiBacco said he hopes students are willing to get the vaccine, especially since both cities have reported rising numbers of COVID-19 cases.

“I would not be surprised if people express more of an interest in getting the vaccine because even the governor in his last press conference mentioned Ansonia and Derby by name as hotspots or upticks at the state level,” DiBacco said.

Other area school districts told Hearst Connecticut Media that they were not planning to hold student-only vaccine clinics in the near future, mostly because the only vaccine cleared for teens is by Pfizer, and only a few places offer that option.

One of the sites that does offer Pfizer is Griffin Hospital in Derby. Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti said the city will work with Griffin Hospital to administer vaccines to teens.

Other communities have not been as lucky.

Fairfield Health Director Sands Cleary said, to date, the town hasn’t been distributing the Pfizer vaccine.

“The Pfizer vaccine has larger minimum orders and storage and use challenges that are more easily addressed by hospital-based vaccine providers,” he said in an email.

Cleary said the state recommended that providers “shouldn’t hold clinics for specific sub-populations at this time.”

Trumbull Health Director Lucienne Bango also said the town does not have Pfizer vaccine readily available and therefore cannot hold a student clinic. That department is encouraging students to sign up through VAMS at any clinic with Pfizer.

“Most local health departments are only authorized to offer the Moderna and J&J vaccines on account of the cold-chain capacity issues, meaning our freezers do not have the low temperature capacity required for the Pfizer vaccine,” said Stratford Health Director Andrea Boissevain. Stratford is not creating a student-specific clinic at this time.

“We will help get the word out once our colleagues who have the Pfizer vaccine (make them available) and help promote” the sites, she added. “I don't think it will change, but if it does ... we may pivot, something we've been doing a lot these days!”

Shelton’s vaccine clinics are handled by the Naugatuck Valley Health District, which also only offers Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.