About 100 Hawaii public schools are considering serving as COVID-19 vaccination sites for children 5 to 11 years old.
The vaccination clinics at the schools would operate as closed sites that would possibly also accommodate immediate family members of students, said interim schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi.
“This depends on the need and the availability,” he said Monday on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” live-stream program.
“This is to ensure that especially for 5 to 11, on this elementary school level, that we have safety. Safety
is very important.”
The vaccinations would require parental or guardian consent, and schools would inform families about the opportunity directly.
Hayashi expected the vaccination sites at schools for 5- to 11-year-olds to work similarly to the vaccination clinics at schools for children 12 and older.
Gov. David Ige anticipates beginning to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds starting Monday, following the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use approval of the vaccine
for younger children on
Friday.
Hayashi was optimistic that the vaccination of 5- to 11-year-old children would help alleviate the shortage of substitute teachers the state is facing.
“As we move forward with … the vaccinations for our 5-to-11 students, hopefully we’ll see an increase in the number of individuals who are willing to substitute, too, and to help us out,” he said.
“Those things are really important as we continue our active recruiting.”
The situation was anticipated to be so dire that the state Board of Education
lowered the minimum qualification for classroom substitutes from a bachelor’s degree to a high school
diploma.
The Department of Education is also working with Unite Here Local 5, the union that represents hotel and service workers, to see whether any of its employees would be interested in part-time work.
“If there’s anyone out in your viewing audience that is interested in substituting, please go to our website and register to be a substitute,” Hayashi said.
“Make a difference not only in this time of need, but also in the life of a child.”
