Students in New Westminster can’t get their COVID-19 vaccines at school-based clinics yet – but the school district has the issue on its radar.
New Westminster’s district parent advisory council (DPAC) raised the issue during a presentation to trustees at the Sept. 28 school board meeting, lobbying for improved health and safety protocols in schools on a number of fronts.
Among their suggestions was the idea of making COVID-19 vaccines widely available to eligible students within schools, to make it easier for families to access vaccination for children and teens.
DPAC president Kathleen Carlsen suggested the COVID vaccines could be made available at the same time as other regularly scheduled in-school immunizations.
School district superintendent Karim Hachlaf, speaking at a special board meeting Oct. 1, said the issue is one the district is continuing to work on in partnership with Fraser Health.
Right now, he noted, Fraser Health is focusing its efforts on the Fraser East region, where vaccination rates are lower in the community. (Fraser East includes Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Hope and Agassiz/Harrison.) In New Westminster, Hachlaf noted, vaccination rates have remained high, so the need is not as urgent.
As of Sept. 28, B.C. Centre for Disease Control stats show that 78% of 12- to 17-year-olds in New Westminster have been fully vaccinated. Eighty-eight per cent have received one dose of vaccine.
The city's overall vaccine-eligible population (aged 12+) now has a first-dose vaccination rate of 91% and a two-dose vaccination rate of 85%
“I will continue to work closely with Fraser Health as they look at their staffing ability to promote school-based vaccinations,” Hachlaf said.
So far, COVID-19 vaccine is available only to those aged 12 and up. Pfizer has submitted preliminary data to Health Canada regarding vaccine for children ages five to 11, and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she's hopeful that vaccine will be available this calendar year – even, potentially, as early as the end of October.
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