First lady Jill Biden and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, will be visiting a children’s vaccination clinic at a school in McLean, Virginia, with historic significance in vaccine delivery.
Franklin Sherman Elementary School was the first school in the nation to give children the polio vaccine in 1954. Jill Biden and Murthy are starting a campaign to get COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of children between the ages of 5-11 years of age.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine just last week, on November 2.
Jill Biden and Murthy will meet school, county and state leaders, as well as with children who’ve just received the vaccine and their parents. with school, county, and state leaders followed by students who just received the vaccine and their parents. Over the next few weeks, Mrs. Biden will be visiting other COVID-19 vaccination clinics at schools, hospitals and other community sites in an effort to encourage more places to offer vaccines to children in their community.
In addition to the first lady’s efforts, on Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to school superintendents and elementary school principals across the nation to take steps to encourage children vaccinations, like holding vaccination clinics at schools, hosting community conversations with pediatricians about the importance of vaccinations for children and to answer parents’ questions about the vaccine, and providing parents with trusted information about the vaccine.
The Biden administration is also encouraging districts across the country to set up vaccine clinics at schools with their American Rescue Plan funds to help get these clinics up and running, and by using providers through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to administer vaccines.
