The Henry County Office of Emergency Management, Henry & Stark County Health Department, and Regional Office of Education will be holding a vaccination clinic specifically for high school students (ages 16-18) at Black Hawk College (East Campus) in the coming weeks. This is a unique opportunity which will allow students who want to be vaccinated the ability to receive the Pfizer vaccine. This vaccination is optional, but does provide a number of positive benefits for students. This email includes information about the registration process, as well as the benefits of receiving the vaccination for our students, families, and communities. Once 50% of residents 16 and older have been vaccinated and stable or declining COVID-19 metrics are recorded during a 28-day monitoring period, Phase 5 will be implemented, removing capacity limits altogether.
Health and Safety
Clinical studies have shown that the Pfizer vaccination is safe and effective for individuals ages 16-18. The FDA has approved the vaccination for those ages. As of 4/11/21, only 22.79% of the Henry County population is fully vaccinated. Stark County stands at 20.97%. The CDC link pertaining to vaccine safety is: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html
The Ability to Stay in the Classroom and Extracurriculars
Under current guidance, just as with staff who have been vaccinated, students who are fully vaccinated will not need to quarantine if they are identified as a close contact to someone who tests positive for Covid. This will provide students with consistency for the rest of this school year and next year.
Transportation and Logistics
The Orion School District will provide transportation for your student to and from Black Hawk East on the day of the vaccination clinic. The exact schedule will be released once a final count of students in Henry and Stark County who want the vaccine is complete.
How to Take Advantage of this Opportunity
A link to register your child for this opportunity if found below. If your child is 18 years of age they should register on their own. If your child is 16-17 years old, you will need to authorize their registration as their parent. The deadline for this opportunity is noon on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
The registration link is: https://hipaa.jotform.com/210976502788163
We have all experienced a lot of change since this pandemic began and we hope this opportunity will provide students with a chance to take one more step towards a return to normal. If you have any questions about registering your child for this clinic, please feel free to contact me at (309) 526-3361 or at [email protected]