City Vaccine Clinics Turn Attention To Teens

Students filed into Wilbur Cross High School’s gymnasium this week not to run laps or shoot hoops, but rather to get vaccinated for Covid-19.

The clinic, run by Fair Haven Community Health Care since mid-March, is one of several schools where New Haven is now working to vaccinate as many 12 – 17 year-olds as possible. Teens in that age range have become eligible for shots in recent weeks.

Fair Haven Health’s Jennifer Vazquez, who oversees the Cross walk-in clinic, said these days about 200 to 625 people are coming for shots — about half of them students

“Even before they could get the vaccine, students were coming by to ask questions about when they would be eligible and if they needed insurance to get vaccinated,” Vazquezsaid.

Vazquez also spoke on the importance of students getting vaccinated. ​“This is how you will get back to your normal lives, to sports and to prom,” she said.

Meanwhile, the New Haven Health Department and Griffin Health opened vaccine clinics Monday outside the Brennan-Rogers Magnet School and King/Robinson Interdistrict Magnet School with the same goal in mind of reaching newly eligible teens. The clinics are open this week (except on Wednesday) from noon to 6 p.m.

(Click here to read about a Career High clinic the city ran during April break to reach then-newly eligible 16 – 17 year-olds; 12 – 15 year-olds became eligible to receive vaccines on May 13.)

Mayor Justin Elicker popped by the Brennan-Rogers clinic Tuesday afternoon. Adults were getting shots. No shots had been administered yet to any students.

Elicker said that his goal is to make it as easy as possible for anyone to get vaccinated, particularly students. Many students are excited to ​“get their freedom back,” he observed. His own daughters, though too young to get the vaccine, are looking forward to being able to live their lives without masks again.

Karissa Stolzman, the assistant principal of Brennan-Rogers, said the school has been reaching out to parents and telling them about the vaccine clinic in the hope that they will take their kids to get vaccinated. Anyone under 18 needs to be accompanied by a parent or have written parental permission at the city clinics to receive the shots, which are free.

City youth and rec chief Gwen Busch Williams said the city has sought to reach students through advertisements out on social media, retweets and repostings,.

The city is ​“trying to bring vaccines to where it’s accessible for kids,” said city Community Services Administrator Mehul Dalal. He said that the city will continue to open up more vaccination sites going forward.

West Rock Alder Honda Smith said that when she has spent time at vaccine clinics targeting kids and students, she has seen very few kids actually show up to get their vaccines. She said she remains hopeful that the disappointing initial results are simply a product of the vaccines being just newly available to kids, and she plans to go door to door to help encourage people to get the vaccine.