Is COVID a concern at Miami schools? Rules have changed, but vaccine pop-ups on the way

Michelle Marchante
·2 min read
4

Students are back in Miami-Dade classrooms this week for the 2022-2023 school year, and this time around, they won’t have a lot of COVID rules to follow.

Masks are optional. Social distancing at lunch is over. And while the Miami-Dade public school district will still notify parents if their child was exposed to COVID-19, it’s up to parents to decide if the student should quarantine.

What about vaccines?

While Florida requires kids to get certain vaccines for school, COVID-19 vaccines are optional. For parents who are thinking of vaccinating their children against the disease for the new school year, they’ll have the chance at some schools this week through COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics.

Vaccination pop-ups for kids 5 and older are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at John F. Kennedy Middle School, 1075 NE 167th St., in North Miami Beach, and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at South Dade Middle School, 29100 SW 194th Ave.

The first vaccination pop-ups of the week were held Tuesday at Booker T. Washington Senior High School in Overtown and North Miami Middle School.

READ NEXT: A child in Florida has tested positive for monkeypox. What the state numbers show

The back-to-school pop-up clinics are part of an outreach program between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Miami-Dade County Council of PTA to boost children vaccinations. The outreach is part of the federal government’s broader vaccination efforts through its “We Can Do This” COVID-19 public education campaign, which has led to thousands of vaccinations across the country through its partnership with more than 1,000 organizations, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is focused on ensuring that children go back to school with the best protection available against COVID-19. The PTA is a crucial partner in our effort to empower trusted messengers and reach parents of school-age children where they are,” said Dr. Cameron Webb, senior advisor for the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

The federal campaign is also behind the “Let’s Get Vaccinated” and “I Got my COVID-19 vaccine” social media profile frames you’ve seen throughout the pandemic. In March, the department partnered with community groups to host a health fair with vaccines and other health resources in Cutler Bay.

Parents can also get free COVID-19 vaccines at retail pharmacies including CVS and Walgreens and at county-run sites including Tropical Park. Your child’s pediatrician office may also have the vaccines in stock.

Dr. Nizar Dowla, right, gives a COVID-19 vaccine to 9-month-old Deji Adebayo while his mother, Dr. Emy Jean-Marie, and his sister, Emiola Adebayo, watch during a drive for children younger than 5 years old on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at Borinquen Health Care Center in Miami.
Dr. Nizar Dowla, right, gives a COVID-19 vaccine to 9-month-old Deji Adebayo while his mother, Dr. Emy Jean-Marie, and his sister, Emiola Adebayo, watch during a drive for children younger than 5 years old on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at Borinquen Health Care Center in Miami.