Alberta Health Services (AHS) will be offering the COVID-19 vaccine in schools to students in Grades 7 to 12.
The temporary immunization clinics will be eligible to students who are born in 2009 or earlier and have received parent/guardian consent.
Vaccines are also available in these temporary clinics to all Rocky View Schools (RVS) staff.
“RVS supports this immunization program in our schools as another accessible means for eligible students and staff to receive the vaccine and another measure of protection within schools to minimize the spread of COVID-19,” says RVS Superintendent of Schools Greg Luterbach in a letter to parents.
“Those who choose to have their child or themselves vaccinated are encouraged to do so before the school clinic if they can.”
The clinics will be offering the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine if the student:
- has never had a COVID-19 vaccine (this will be their first dose)
- had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 3 weeks ago (this will be their second dose)
Luterbach says vaccines will only be provided to students who return a completed consent form signed by a parent or guardian.
“If a signed consent form has not been provided to the school, that student will not be able to receive a vaccine,” says Luterbach.
The consent form is to be signed and brought into the school office on or before Sept. 13. Each school will work with AHS on scheduling; those details will be communicated to families by the school once confirmed.
According to the letter, RVS respects and protects personal privacy and will not track an individual’s vaccination status.
RVS will share the returned consent forms with AHS so they can prepare for the clinic and ensure signed consent has been provided.
The letter also states that vaccination clinics may not proceed in all schools depending on the level of interest at a given school and this will be determined by AHS.
For more information, click here.
stacie@frogmediainc.ca
