Broward County students 16 and older will soon have the opportunity to get vaccinated for the coronavirus without leaving campus beginning Tuesday.
A similar effort in Orange County last week resulted in about 1,500 students and families receiving COVID-19 shots.
The Broward County School District will begin offering the vaccine at six schools, with all of the county schools visited over an eight-day span through May 13.
All students 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine, which will be administered by staff members from the state Department of Health in Broward County. They'll return in three weeks for the second dose.
The shots will be provided on a walk-up basis, so no appointments are necessary.
Anyone under 18 will need to have a parent with them.
Last week in Orange County, some 1,500 students and their families turned out to receive their vaccines at three area high schools, selected because the infection rates in their neighborhoods are higher and vaccination rates are lower, officials said,
“It is currently important for parents to exert influence in younger individuals to get vaccinated — and they are not getting vaccinated at a higher rate,” said Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Health Department in Orange County.
The school district said officials will return in three weeks for the second round.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Read more on this article at our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
