COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio surpassed 50,000 total student COVID-19 infections Thursday, but officials said expanding the vaccine eligibility to the 12-15 year old group could reduce spread of COVID-19 among the student population.
Vaccine providers have already been expanding opportunities for students aged 16-18 to be immunized on school grounds.
Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said she is excited that the district will be able to offer shots to even more students at its clinics before school is out of session for the summer. The district has partnered with Dayton Children’s Hospital to immunize students.
In Ohio, 50% of adults have been vaccinated, leading officials to surmise that some families will not be comfortable having their children immunized.
Lolli said the district’s job is to make the vaccine available to the families who want it. Parent or guardian permission is required for vaccination.
“We’ll follow what Dayton Children’s Hospital recommends because we trust their judgment. We trust their opinion about these things,” she said. “Every family needs to read as much as they can, listen to as much as they can and make the determination for themselves.”
Due to the lagging demand for shots, when students 12 and older become eligible there will be immediate emphasis on vaccinating the population to help pick up the pace.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has been at the forefront of studies of the Pfizer vaccine in children. Dr. Robert Frenck, director of the hospital’s Gamble Vaccine Research Center, said vaccinations for the expanded age group could begin as early as next week.
“My guess would be within a few days, even maybe that day of having the emergency use authorization lowered, people could start having the 12 year olds vaccinated,” he said.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital views vaccinating children imperative to reducing spread of the virus. While they are less likely to become seriously ill than adults, Frenck said all kids are at-risk for severe disease if they contract the virus.
Pediatrician Dr. Amanda Dropic enrolled her 8-year-old daughter Lila in the vaccine trial. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Children’s)
“I just can’t predict who’s going to be the one that’s going to get severe disease. I don’t want anyone to get sick, and that’s why really, we need to vaccinate everyone,” he added.
More than 300 children have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 and 15,00 have been hospitalized, Frenck said.
Many of those young people are “normal, healthy kids” with no comorbidities, and it seems random who becomes very sick with the virus, Frenck said.
With 25% of the district’s students still opting for virtual learning, Lolli said she hopes the vaccine effort will help get students back in the classroom. She is optimistic that vaccines for kids can help the district get back to a more normal learning environment next fall.
The Dayton Public Schools district has not seen many COVID-19 cases, having only been back for in-person instruction for two months when the statewide case count had declined, but the virus has still caused disruptions.
“We still do have those pop-up cases. An athlete may have contracted it through some means, and we’ve had to quarantine a team,” Lolli said. “The numbers have lessened, and we’re hopeful that as more people are vaccinated — adults and students — we will see a return to normal attendance and normal sports and athletic events.”
In its weekly update, Ohio reported 1,191 “new” cases among students on Thursday and added 132 backlogged cases to the totals as the count of cases among students rose to 50,907, according to the Spectrum News tracker.
If the vaccine is authorized next week as expected, the district will arrange to hold evening clinics operated by Dayton Children’s Hospital, which has begun vaccination clinics with the district for students 16 and older.
The district held its first evening clinic at Belmont High School Tuesday. Lolli said she was pleased with how many students and their families showed up.
Dr. Robert Frenck is pictured with the family of Dropic, who enrolled her four children in the Pfizer trial. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Children’s)
Should it be necessary, the district is also prepared to open school buildings this summer to vaccinate students, Lolli said.
“I know other schools in the county would do the same thing, to open up for that next age bracket if they are out of school,” she said. “We want to make sure that our students can return in the fall and be healthy, be safe and continue to have school more normal than what we’ve had over the last year and a half.”
