D.C. officials aim for a strong start to the school year by encouraging students and their parents to get vaccinated.
The city’s youth vaccination incentive program kicked off Saturday at three local middle schools.
“We are doing so much this year to ensure that our school buildings are safe, that our school communities will be safe as we return to the vital in-person schooling we all know is essential for our young learners,” Paul Kihn, the District’s Deputy Mayor for Education, said.
Kihn, alongside other D.C. officials, attended the Saturday immunization event at Souza Middle School as parents and their children walked in and signed up for free routine immunizations and the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools Lewis D. Ferebee was also at the event.
“I have a teenager myself, who’s a DCPS student and made the decision to show that he was vaccinated,” Ferebee said.
Students, 12 years old and up, who got the vaccine on Saturday walked away with free prizes such as Air Pods, gift cards and the chance to win a $25,000 scholarship.
Other participating schools include Brooklyn Middle School and Johnson Middle School.
“The data is really clear, the science is clear,” Chancellor Ferebee said. “Of those individuals who are testing positive and vaccinated, the symptoms have been minimal.”
