“They've weathered remote learning, adapted to wearing masks, put birthday parties and playdates on hold," Pan said. "These young heroes want to fully participate in life again with holiday gatherings and festivities approaching. Vaccine authorization could not come at a better time.”
According to Pan, vaccinating all those schoolchildren, who she said are 9% of the state's population, would give families and schools peace of mind and a sense of normalcy.
Public health officials acknowledged that reaching all eligible children will require offering shots at schools and doing outreach to some communities.
A change in approach to vaccinating kids
Parents and caregivers have options when it comes to getting their children vaccinated. Pediatric doses will be available at chain pharmacies, at public clinics and at pediatricians’ offices or hospitals, especially when those practices are part of a larger health care system.
Public health officials in the Bay Area are rethinking how vaccine clinics can be more kid-friendly. Many of these administrators are parents as well as medical professionals, so they realize that children might feel anxious about needles. Confronted with a syringe, many small children become afraid, but luckily they’re often easily distracted and respond to incentives, like stickers, balloons and temporary tattoos.
In San Francisco, health officials are planning to answer questions about vaccines from parents and caregivers at town halls in Spanish, English and Cantonese.
Kathleen Lund, school nurse at Longfellow Elementary School, said at least a couple parents ask her about kids’ vaccines each day. They worry about their children missing school when they come down with a sniffle and have to be tested or quarantine at home.
The principal at Longfellow reached out to the city’s department of public health to organize a vaccine clinic at the school in the Outer Mission, Lund said. Longfellow was not previously among the school district's vaccination sites. Those plans are moving forward, aiming for mid-November, and school staff are starting to reach out to families who speak Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese and Russian.