City Will Host Student-Focused Vaccination Days at the Lumen Field Event Center and Franklin High School
Following the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for use on 12 – 15 year-olds, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan today new efforts by the city to reach nearly 17,000 students eligible for a vaccination.
According to Durkan, The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and Seattle Public Schools (SPS) have partnered to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to every public middle and high school student before the end of the school year. SFD will offer in-school vaccinations at middle schools and high schools across Seattle, and the City and Swedish will also offer a series of youth-focused vaccination clinics so families have multiple options available to them.
“As soon as we learned that the COVID-19 vaccine could be approved for use on young people, we began working with our partners at Seattle Public Schools to launch in-school clinics with Seattle Fire,” said Durkan. “Offering the vaccine to our younger students provides families with peace of mind that their children will be safe from catching and spreading the virus. Vaccinating our students is also an issue of educational justice: We know that virtual learning does not serve families who face historic inequities. Getting kids back in school safely is critical to ensuring our youth have access to true and lasting opportunity.”
According to officials, SFD will offer the Pfizer vaccine to every SPS middle and high school, and all three charter schools in Seattle by May 27, 2021. On Monday, May 17, SFD began hosting 52 in-school vaccination clinics, including four hosted by UW Medicine or Swedish, and three in-school clinics at charter schools. The full SPS vaccination schedule can be found on the Seattle Public Schools website at seattleschools.org. These vaccination clinics do not require an appointment, and all students 12 and older are eligible to get vaccinated at each clinic. It is up to an individual school’s discretion whether they would like to offer vaccinations to families and caregivers. SFD will vaccinate all eligible individuals who attend each clinic in alignment with an individual school’s policies. Students will need to provide written guardian consent prior to being vaccinated. Consent forms will be emailed out from each school. Printed copies can be requested from a student’s school, and the form is available in Amharic, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
“These vaccination clinics are just another example of the huge steps forward that can be made when partnership is prioritized,” said SPS Superintendent Brent Jones. “We are so grateful to the City and to Seattle Fire for their great work that will result in a healthier school district and a clearer path to resuming regular in-person instruction next fall.”
“The Seattle Fire Department looks forward to partnering with the Seattle Public Schools on a critical next step in a healthier Seattle: administering vaccinations to our eligible adolescents. Through our approach of offering in-school vaccinations and hosting pop-up clinics, we are providing multiple opportunities for students with consent from a guardian to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is proven to be safe and effective,” said Fire Chief Harold Scoggins.
The City of Seattle is also hosting three youth-focused vaccination clinics for students and families to have multiple options available to them, beyond in-school vaccinations. The City and Swedish are hosting student and family days at the Lumen Field Event Center this week, which will include updated hours to better serve families, on-site pediatric clinicians administering the vaccinations and special Seattle Seahawks programming for kids and families. SFD will also host a pop-up vaccination clinic at Franklin High School for students and families better served by weekend vaccination opportunities. Appointments are not required for any of these student and family clinics. Details on these clinics are as follows:
• Lumen Field Event Center, Wednesday, May 19, 1:30 – 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, May 22, 11:15 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.
• Franklin High School, Saturday, May 22, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
“We continue to see more and more light at the end of this pandemic tunnel as we start vaccinating the next eligible group – our kids ages 12-15,” said Swedish CEO Dr. Guy Hudson. “As a surgeon who has taken care of kids my entire career, this group holds a special place in my heart. I am glad we are getting them vaccinated so they can return to school, their friends and to more of a sense of normalcy.”
For more information, including how to get vaccinated today, visit the City’s vaccination website at www.seattle.gov/vaccine.
