Rochester schools hold clinics in schools to provide COVID-19 vaccine to students
ROCHESTER — Superintendent Kyle Repucci has announced that Rochester Public Schools collaborated with the Rochester Fire Department, Strafford County Public Health Network and the University of New Hampshire to hold a series of clinics to offer COVID-19 vaccines to students in Rochester Schools.
All eight District elementary schools and Rochester Middle School hosted clinics for students, with 534 students district wide registered via a voluntary survey that was sent to parents and guardians.
The Rochester Fire Department reached out to the district about collaborating on a vaccination effort once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for children ages 5-11.
Nursing students from the University of New Hampshire volunteered to administer the shots. The Strafford County Public Health Network worked with the State of New Hampshire to secure vaccine doses.
“I’m so very pleased by the great teamwork displayed by school staff, firefighters, nursing students and the Stafford County Public Health Network that enabled Rochester Public Schools to offer this important resource to our school community,” said Superintendent Repucci. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our students, and these clinics will help assure that our community remains as secure as we can be from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
At a clinic at the Chamberlain Street School on Monday, UNH nursing students administered the vaccine after working with firefighters to set up a clinic in the school’s gymnasium. Firefighters stood by with each student to provide support as they received the vaccine, and handed out lollipops and stickers to students afterward.
The clinics provided the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which received emergency use authorization from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration for those ages five and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a two-dose regimen, with three weeks between first and second doses. Children ages 5-11 receive a lower dose than adults, with children receiving 10 micrograms of vaccine and adults getting 30 micrograms.
The clinics provided first doses to 409 of the students district-wide whose parents or guardians requested them. The number of students given first doses in each school are: Chamberlain – 81 students; East Rochester – 57 students; Gonic – 31 students; Maple Street – 36 students; McClelland – 77 students; Nancy Loud – 16 students; School Street – 15 students; William Allen – 63 students; Rochester Middle School – 73 students/
Rochester Public Schools are planning to offer second doses of the vaccine during the week of Dec. 13. Administrators will contact families directly about that effort.
The same organizations also will collaborate to offer COVID-19 booster shots for Rochester Public Schools staff members on Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
“I would like to thank Rochester Public Schools staff, the Rochester Fire Department, the University of New Hampshire Nursing Program and the Stafford County Public Health Network,” said Superintendent Repucci. “We encourage anyone who has questions about the vaccine to speak with a trusted medical professional, such as their child’s physician.”
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Rochester schools hold clinics in schools to provide COVID-19 vaccine
