As Schools Prepare To Re-open, White House Pushes For Vaccination For All Above 12

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : August 9, 2021

President Joe Biden announced recently that efforts will be made to vaccinate all children above 12 as they prepare to return to school this fall.

His plan is to make sure that doctors report the status of the vaccinations during the sports physicals of students, who, in turn, will inform young athletes about the vaccination site nearest them.

Biden Administration will also offer schools the resources required to set up pop-up clinics for vaccinating students on their campuses if required.

Biden Administration recently announced their efforts to vaccinate those above 12 and young adults as they prepare to return to school. The announcement comes in the wake of more than 1 million students returning to schools and 20 million preparings to go to college in almost 42 days. It also takes into consideration the prevalence of the highly contagious Delta variant. New infections are the highest in the areas where the rate of vaccination is low.

As Schools Prepare To Re-open, White House Pushes For Vaccination For All Above 12

As per the estimates of last week, 30% of children above 12 are fully vaccinated. Doctors are concerned that the Delta variant may spread when millions of students get back to schools across the nation.

The President’s plan will function on the basis of the Return to School program his team released this week. The program is designed to help students, teachers, and other staff to return to in-person learning amidst the growing concerns about the Delta variant.

As Schools Prepare To Re-open, White House Pushes For Vaccination For All Above 12

The best way to get back safely to the activities youngsters enjoyed during the pre-pandemic days is to get vaccinated at the earliest. Vaccines guarantee their safety when playing sports, spending time among friends or when studying together.

More than 12 medical and sports organizations like the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine are participating in the campaign. They have urged doctors to report on the vaccination status of students during their sports physicals. They should also inform athletes of the nearest vaccination site. American Academy of Pediatrics will also publish revised forms for parents, doctors, and students on the language of vaccination. It estimates that up to 70% of students enjoy organized sports.

This gives them an ideal opportunity to communicate the benefits of vaccination to the young generation. AAP, in a joint statement along with 11 counterparts, said that vaccination prevents severe illness, hospitalization, and death because of Coronavirus infection. This way, students will stay in schools, athletes will continue participating in sports and teams will be there in fields. It will also protect all communities.

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Correspondingly, the National Parent Teacher Association will exhort local organizations to organize discussions among parents on the benefits of vaccinating their children. It will also collaborate with AAP to involve more pediatricians in the campaign.

Biden Administration will also offer schools the resources required to open pop-up vaccination clinics on their campuses. Last week, the President instructed all school districts in the country to open at least one pop-up clinic in the weeks ahead. They can do it in collaboration with local pharmacies as part of the Federal Pharmacy Program. The administration will also conduct virtual discussions on the benefits of vaccination with youth leaders.

Last Monday, the US reached its goal of administering at least one dose of a vaccine to 70% of eligible adults. It happened a month after the President declared the goal.

In recent weeks, the US is witnessing an increase of daily vaccination up to 677,000.

At present, Coronavirus vaccination is limited for use in children. In May, the FDA authorized the Pfizer shot for use in kids above 12. Moderna too is expected to have one in the near future. The company plans to expand its trials to include children.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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