Feds urge schools to provide COVID-19 shots

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids and infor- mation to parents on the benefits of the shots as the White House looks to speedily provide vaccines to those ages 5 to 11.

First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in Mclean, Virginia, on Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954.

The visit came just days after federal regulators recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for the age group. The White House says the first lady will visit pediatric vaccination clinics across the coun- try over the coming weeks to encourage the shots.

“The vaccine is the best way to protect your children against COVID-19,” she told parents in the school’s cafeteria, after touring a clinic in the gymnasium that vaccinated 260 students.

At the same time, Health and Human Services Secre- tary Xavier Becerra and Edu- cation Secretary Miguel Car- dona are sending a letter to school districts across the country calling on them to organize vaccine clinics for their newly eligible students. The officials are reminding school districts that they can tap into billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief money to support pediatric vaccination efforts.

The Biden administration is providing local school districts with tools to help schools partner with phar- macies to administer shots. And it’s asking schools to share information on the ben- efits of vaccines and details about the vaccination process with parents, to counter disinformation surrounding the shots.

The White House is encour- aging schools to host com- munity conversations and share fact sheets on the vaccines and is working with the American Academy of Pediatrics to partner local physicians with schools aiming to share science-based informa- tion about the shots.