District works to ensure students have required vaccinations

COVID-19 has made receiving routine medical care, including required childhood vaccinations, more difficult for some families. But Philadelphia School District is partnering with nationwide pharmacy CVS to provide vaccination clinics at school buildings to facilitate families’ compliance with law. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, almost 6,000 students would have been excluded from classes because they did not have the needed vaccinations or a state exemption by November 2. School nurses had been reaching out to unvaccinated children, but federal data show that immunizations have fallen nationwide during the pandemic.

Starting October 31 vaccination clinics staffed by CVS pharmacists were available at 12 city schools. Families could make appointments through November 21 for shots, and the district and Philadelphia Public Health Department worked with uninsured families to get insurance or find ways to cover the cost of the vaccines, the Inquirer said. If families made an appointment before November 2, they would not be excluded from school.