Vaccination campaign expands
Clinics for teens coming to Danbury mall, local schools
With residents ages 16 and over eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Thursday, local schools and other entities are planning how to vaccinate older students.
This is a challenge because the only vaccine eligible for
16- and 17-year-olds is the Pfizer vaccine, and many local towns do not have the freezer needed to store this type at the required ultra-low temperatures.
The state plans to help organize clinics for students 16 and over beginning in mid-April, while Danbury and New Milford are arranging additional appointments for teens.
“I am very excited about this opportunity for our students, and our school leadership groups will help us to promote the vaccine effort,” said Kathy O’Dowd, the health and nursing services coordinator for Danbury Public Schools.
High school seniors at the public and private schools in Danbury will receive doses on certain days at the mass vaccination site at the Danbury Fair mall, she said.
Danbury schools will be among the first districts in Connecticut where the state will help organize Pfizer clinics at schools.
These clinics will first be held in the state’s 33 so-called Alliance districts, which have the highest percentage of students living in poverty.
The state will work with local health departments and school districts in Alliance districts to hold the clinics between April 19 to May
7. After that, clinics will be held at other schools.
“It is anticipated that these may be lower volume clinics given that many of these students will have received a vaccine in the community,” the state health department wrote in a memo to providers. “However, these clinics can offer an opportunity for easy access to Pfizer for students before the start of the summer. The pace of these clinics will be somewhat limited by overall Pfizer vaccine supply, but it is expected that all high schools should be able to do first-dose Pfizer clinics in May.”
Brookfield Superintendent John Barile said he is “excited” to get these clinics up and running. He said the district will work with families to make sure parents give permission to have their students participate.
“We will do whatever we can to work with our local health department and our families, as we have all year to get through this pandemic,” he said.
Local health departments in towns like Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield and Ridgefield do not have the freezer capacity to store the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at ultra-cold temperatures, so they would not be able to hold these clinics on their own, superintendents said.
“I know that would be difficult for the New Fairfield health clinic, so, if we could get some (clinics) to come to the high school, we’d be happy to make it happen.” said Pat Cosentino, superintendent in New
Fairfield. “We’re very supportive of it, but we just have to work out the logistics.”
Once students are fully vaccinated, they will be less likely to get sick and not be required to quarantine if they are exposed to the virus, among other benefits, Superintendent Christine Carver said.
“It’s just going to make it better, just like it is for the general public,” she said.
Before the state announced its plan Monday afternoon, administrators in Easton, Redding and Region 9 had already been discussing how to vaccinate students.
“In talking with some of our parents, they’ve already been looking into which vaccine is appropriate for their child, testing locations,” Superintendent Rydell Harrison said on Monday. “It’s definitely something we support with our students. It’s such an important layer in making sure that we’re providing the best protection to keep our entire community safe.”
Danbury’s school-based health centers expect to be involved in planning the state clinics. These centers will better be able to educate students on the vaccines and follow up with students if they’re not feeling well after their doses, said Melanie Bonjour, program manager for the school-based health centers.
“It’s a benefit of having schoolbased providers assist with that because they know the kids and can make a connection with the
students,” she said.
New Milford Health Department has received a freezer to store the Pfizer vaccine and plans to launch clinics for public and private schools in about two weeks. Pfizer will also be available at regular clinics where teens can attend with their families, said Lisa Morrissey, health director.
“We’re hoping to get that info out to schools before the end of this week,” she said.
The Danbury health department is working with the Community Health Center and Danbury Hospital — the two groups that run the
mall clinic — to start the student appointments in April. The health center will provide the school with flyers and a registration link for students, O’Dowd said.
Danbury’s plan is to vaccinate high school seniors first at the mall and then offer appointments to 16and 17-year-olds.
The mall clinic has primarily offered Moderna, but has given the second dose of Pfizer to patients who received that type for their first dose at Danbury Hospital.