On July 29, President Biden announced the Back to School Week of Action, from August 7-15. This week is a nationwide mobilization effort to get young people the COVID-19 vaccine before going back to school in the fall. Throughout the week, and continuing through the start of school, the White House is asking school districts to host school-based vaccination clinics for students, their families, and their communities.
They are also asking local health departments (LHDs) to assist with this effort by working with the school districts in their jurisdiction to organize these vaccine clinics. Some specific steps they are asking LHDs to take include:
- Proactively reach out to all the school districts in your state/county/local area and offer to partner with them on school-located vaccine clinics in the weeks leading up to and through the start of school. Made to Save has developed a teachers vaccination digital toolkit that you can share with schools to make messaging easier for them. Click here to commit to taking action, register events you are hosting, and find additional events you or your networks can participate in.
- Host sessions to offer support and assistance to school districts and health departments on how to run school-located vaccine clinics, and heavily encourage school district and health department staff to attend.
- Perform public engagement sessions in your area (e.g., in partnership with schools) on building vaccine confidence among young people and their parents.
- Track school-located vaccination clinics in your area and share details about your clinics here.
- Post on social media often! This week, share why you’re vaccinated, how others can get vaccinated, and why it’s important to be back to school in person. This Thursday, August 12, is a Digital Day of Action and the White House would like LHDs, schools, community organizations, and everyone else to post on social media encouraging young people to get vaccinated. Made to Save has developed a Back to School Partner Toolkit and social media graphics that can be posted and provide more information about COVID vaccines. Some additional resources that can be shared include:
- Text to find a vaccine. Text your zip code to 438829 to get three locations near you with vaccines in stock. If you prefer your information in Spanish, text your zip code to 822862.
- Visit Vaccines.gov. Find locations, sort by specific vaccines, and get more information on how to make an appointment.
- Call the hotline. The National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline can be reached at 1-800-232-0233 to get help in English, Spanish, and more than 150 other languages. It also has a TTY line.
LHDs have been pivotal in ensuring that schools reopen safely and remain safe as we navigate the pandemic. They have worked with schools to provide timely resources and guidance and to support COVID-19 testing efforts. As we begin the new school year, it will be critical for LHDs to continue to partner with schools to ensure that students, families, and the community remain safe and healthy.
To learn more, see additional resources, or sign up to join the Back to School Week of Action go to https://madetosave.org/back-to-school/.
