Waterbury Schools Holds Vaccine Clinic For Students 16 and Up Starting Today

The Waterbury school district is holding a coronavirus vaccine clinic for students 16 years and older starting today.

The clinic will take place during the week of April 19, which is the school district's spring recess.

Students must have an appointment and those who are 16 and 17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, school officials said.

Those who attend the clinic will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only vaccination approved for people under 18.

For students 16 and 17, a drive-thru clinic will be held on the Post University campus on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Waterbury Public School District set aside 300 appointments on Monday for 16 and 17 year olds to get vaccinated. Michael Albino was one of them.

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“It’s been very difficult to schedule one so I’m just really glad I’m finally able to get it done and over with and can claim victory,” said Albino, a junior at Kennedy High School.

Albino's mom Sherri was with him and she said she feels blessed and is glad the school district made this available for students.

“I thought it was great. They needed to reach out to some of the students and get them in because I think there was a lot of hesitancy in our city," Sherri Hemingway said.

Out of the 300 appointments available, the Chief Medical Officer at Waterbury Hospital said fewer than 50 were booked. He said there could be a number of reasons why including that a parent or guardian must accompany the student and the families weren't notified about the open appointments until Friday.

He also said there may be some vaccine hesitancy especially following the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The extra doses won't go to waste, though. Those doses can be added to the existing 50 appointments on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

I think for that age group, it’s not necessarily that you will get super sick from COVID. It’s that you can give it to other people who can get very sick from COVID and that’s what we’re trying to prevent here and protect each other, and your family and the elderly specifically that are at high risk of getting sick," Chief Medical Officer of Waterbury Health Justin Lundbye said.

For students 18 and up, a clinic will be held at Waterbury Arts Magnet School on Elm Street Tuesday thru Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The clinic is held in partnership with the State of Connecticut, the City of Waterbury, St. Mary's Hospital, Waterbury Hospital and Post University.

Anyone who would like to schedule an appointment can call 877-918-2224 starting Monday at 8 a.m. The appointment line will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

School officials said there will be additional opportunities to get the vaccine in the coming weeks through school-based sites and pop-up clinics, in collaboration with the city. However, they are encouraging as many students as possible to schedule an appointment during this week's clinic.