Since vaccines became available in the spring, Revere Public Schools has taken a proactive approach through public education campaigns, webinars and other avenues to really pump up student vaccination rates ahead of the 2021/2020 school year.
As a result, Revere vacation rates are surpassing the state’s average for students and residents 12-19 year old. In Revere, one of the cities hammered early on in the pandemic, 75 percent of 12- to-15-year-olds had received at least one shot by Sept. 2, along with 80 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds.
Now, the Revere Department of Public Health (RPH) has teamed up with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) as part of a comprehensive strategy to vaccinate local communities.
CHA, in partnership with RPH, is launching a series of community COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Revere.
Starting yesterday, September 21, CHA will hold a regular community vaccination clinic at Revere High School at 101 School St. The clinic will run every Tuesday until October 19 from 3-6:30 p.m. and will be open to the public aged 12 and older. The Pfizer vaccine will be available, and will be free of charge.
“We realize that vaccination is the best way to prevent serious illness from COVID and we are thrilled that Lauren Buck and the Revere Department of Public Health have been able to partner with CHA to bring these opportunities directly to our students,†said RPS Superintendent Dianne Kelly. “It takes the barrier of access out of the equation for many.â€
Ahead of the new school year and after vaccines became available RPS hosted a series of webinars to encourage more high schoolers to get vaccinated.
“Vaccines do work,†said RPH’s Dr. Nathalee Kong at one of those webinars. “We have data here to show that onecde the vaccine rollout started in nursing homes infections significantly dropped. So the vaccines are effective at protecting the most vulnerable members of our community from getting hospitalized from getting severe symptoms of COVID and from dying with COVID. So this is what we’re aiming for so that we can keep our kids in school and get them back to prom, back to sports, just back to all the things that we used to do and enjoy.â€
Anyone who is not vaccinated should visit one of the CHA vaccine clinics or call the Revere Deparmtent of Public Health at 781-485-8486 or visit https://www.revere.org/departments/public-health-division/vaccine.
Dr. Kelly said all members of the Revere community have been encouraged by RPS to talk to a trusted medical professional–primary care provider or trusted nurse–when making a decision about receiving the vaccine.
