PUEBLO — Elementary schools in Pueblo District 60 are hosting vaccine clinics for children aged 5 to 11. The school district is partnering with the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) to bring mobile clinics to the following six schools.
Heritage Elementary - November 5
Highland Park Elementary - November 13
Morton Elementary - November 19
Haaff Elementary - November 20
Bradford Elementary - November 20
Bessemer Academy - November 26
Eva Baca Elementary - November 27
The clinics will be open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. in the schools' parking lots. The first 250 to receive the vaccine will receive a $20 Walmart gift card from the City of Pueblo.
There is no need to pre-register for the vaccine. Children under 18 are required to have parental consent to receive the vaccine.
The FDA authorized the vaccine for children in the age group of 5 to 11 in October, and the CDC Director signed off on its approval days ago. The child sized two-dose regimen has a 90% efficacy rate.
Health department officials are emphasizing that the vaccine is a crucial step in keeping children in the classroom. Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso is "excited to... bring these clinics to our elementary schools... and offer a critical piece of protection to our youngest students." She said educators "want nothing more than our schools to remain open and our children in the classroom seats, and this vaccine is vital in helping us accomplish those goals."
Pueblo County saw 24 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the last month, and COVID cases in Pueblo continue to increase.
Randy Evetts, the public health director at the PDPHE, said that "cases in children age 5 to 18 are at (the) highest level since the start of the pandemic."
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