A ‘sense of relief’

For Greenwich High students, vaccine signals a potential return to normalcy

GREENWICH — Kwame Boateng’s junior year of high school was upended by the COVID-19 crisis.

He and his classmates felt disappointed and demoralized as the pandemic dragged on, especially in the cold, gloomy winter months when cases soared and there seemed no end in sight to the public health crisis.

“There was a sense that we have no actual grasp of a timeline on COVID and when we’ll be able to return to things as normal,” said Boateng, 17.

But the weight of the pandemic has been somewhat lifted lately for him and his Greenwich High School classmates, he said. In March, his teachers and other school staff began to get the COVID vaccinate. And starting Thursday, Boateng and students around the state over the age of 16 became eligible for vaccination.

Gov. Ned Lamont accelerated the state’s vaccine rollout when he announced re

cently that the state’s entire adult population was eligible as of April 1. Before Thursday, eligibility was limited to residents age 44 and older. State officials have said that this phase of the rollout makes 1.3 million more Connecticut residents eligible for the vaccine.

“I think that’s just amplified that sense of relief that maybe it’s not going to be another year, year-and-a-half, or two-year thing that we have no grasp on,” said Boateng, who as of Wednesday

had already registered through the Vaccine Administration Management System. “Things are slowly but surely getting back to normal.”

But not all students are rushing to sign up to get the shot.

Mark Chen, student body president at Greenwich High, said he didn’t see a lot of urgency among his classmates to get the shot immediately.

“By that, I mean most students will likely not be staying up late or getting up early to schedule their appointments or calling vaccination sites to inquire about leftover doses,” Chen said. “Of course, most students

are still looking to get vaccinated as soon as they can, and I imagine students will be making appointments (if available) over the next couple of weeks.”

Personally, Chen said he hopes to get his vaccine as quickly as possible. But he knows that online schedulers such as VAMS, and the Yale New Haven Health System, might be jammed in the early days.

Senior Lily Bartels said a survey was recently done to gauge student interest in the vaccine. There were about 200 respondents, Bartels said, and 90 percent said they were excited to get the vaccine.

The past year, Bartels said, has been challenging. She remembers as an underclassmen looking on with anticipation at all the rites of passage for seniors. But because of the pandemic, events such as prom, spirit week and college commitment day are all up in the air.

But students are making the best of a bad situation.

Bartels said school administration has confirmed there will be some sort of prom, though its unclear whether dancing will be permitted or whether it will be held at a banquet hall. Mini-golf has been suggested as an alternative to a dance, Bartels said.

And there is also talk of a possible seniors-only week, with the other grades on remote learning, to allow the soon-to-be graduates to enjoy spirit week or other events.

Those things, however, remain up in the air. In the meantime, Bartels expected to stay up until the early morning hours of April 1 to secure her vaccine appointment.

“We definitely did miss out on a lot and that’s why I’m excited to get the vaccine and hopefully move forward,” she said.