PLEASE NOTE: Some of the resources on this page do not yet include the new recommendations for Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for children 6 months through age 5. See CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Children and Teens for the current information.
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Achieving high levels of COVID-19 vaccination among eligible students, teachers, staff, and members of their households is the most effective strategy we have to keep school communities safe. Because schools are an important and trusted center of community life, school sites are an ideal location for COVID-19 vaccine clinics. School-located vaccine clinics can provide a convenient and familiar place to vaccinate students, school staff, and the surrounding community.
School district and school staff and administrators have been working very hard on COVID mitigation efforts throughout the pandemic. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) School Vaccine Team is here to provide support to schools in coordinating COVID vaccine clinics.
This toolkit serves as a guide for coordinating COVID-19 vaccine clinics, including information, best practices, and resources to engage schools in planning and promoting COVID-19 vaccine clinics at schools. School engagement in these steps is critical. Our most successful clinics are those in which the school conducts outreach to students, parents, staff, and communities and takes an active part in clinic planning and implementation.
On the following page, you will find a checklist to guide your school vaccine team through the planning, coordination, and implementation of your school-located vaccine clinics. We recommend printing this checklist to make it easy to track your progress and plan next steps.
If you have any questions about this toolkit or need additional resources, please contact:
Cassandra Biederman at
cbiederman@ph.lacounty.gov
Adriana Diaz at adiazmar@ph.lacounty.gov
COVID-19 School Vaccine Event Checklist for School Administrators | ||
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Preparing for your school-located vaccine clinic event | ||
Recommended Timeline | Task Description | Check When Complete |
At least 3 weeks before clinic | Connect with COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Partner DPH can assist in identifying vaccine partners for your school if needed. |
|
At least 3 weeks before clinic | Set a date and time for the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics
at your school Decide if you want to have an ongoing clinic or a one-time event. Consider timing of second dose event, consider a time when there may be other community events on campus like wellness fairs, fall/winter/spring festivals, COVID-testing, holiday events, etc. Get an estimated count of the number of students/parents interested in receiving a vaccine. |
|
At least 3 weeks before clinic | Identify key school personnel
to support vaccine clinic event coordination School Principal, Athletic Coaches, Teachers, PTA, School Nurse, Student Leaders/Influencers, etc. |
|
2 weeks before clinic | Finalize clinic details and conduct
a site visit of your school with the vaccine provider Walk-through of your school with the vaccinating partner and school personnel who will be present at the school clinic |
|
Outreach and Promotion of Your School Vaccine Events | ||
2 weeks before clinic | Create a flyer with school-clinic
details The vaccine partner will provide web-links for optional pre-registration. Make sure to have translated version of flyers if needed for your school. Share flyers with your DPH liaison for additional support with promoting your event. |
|
Begin sharing as early as possible; no later than 1 week before clinic | Disseminate Vaccine Clinic Information Print flyers and display at key locations on your school campus Share flyer on landing page of school website Share flyer on school's social media accounts Share flyer via parent/student communications platforms Share clinic information and flyer with athletic coaches and other key staff |
|
One week before clinic | School principal to send a letter to parents with clinic information | |
One week before clinic | Remind key school personnel and/or volunteers who will be present on campus during school clinic about upcoming clinic details | |
First Dose Clinic | ||
1st Dose Clinic | Place directional signage and
flyers/banners to guide people to the vaccine clinic location
at your school If the clinic is open to the community, make sure that there are signs at the entrance of the parking lot, so people know where to park and where to go after parking. |
|
Vaccine provider will arrive up to 1 hour prior to the clinic to set-up | ||
School volunteers tasked with directing people to clinics and promoting the vaccine clinic to passerby or students/staff who happen to be on campus | ||
DPH is available for additional support or troubleshooting. | ||
2nd Dose Clinic | ||
2nd Dose Clinic (after 3 weeks) | Same process as first dose clinic | |
DPH will check in regarding next steps and to help support additional vaccine clinics. |
Coordination of school-based vaccine clinics involves the collaboration of three groups:
The vaccine provider will open the clinic(s) in the MyTurn website https://myturn.ca.gov/ and provide the registration link or QR code to use for registration. This link/QR code should be included in promotional flyers. While appointments will help the clinic move smoothly, walk-ins should also be allowed. In addition to school site clinics, or as an alternative, schools may promote vaccination and provide information on COVID-19 vaccine locations nearby. Please refer to Appendix A for step-by-step instructions for finding vaccine clinics.
Identify a team of key school stakeholders that will inspire vaccine confidence and promote a successful vaccine event. This team will coordinate the event with the vaccine provider and implement outreach initiatives to the school community, including peer to peer communication, to improve uptake.
It is key that a school site administrator is aware and involved in the planning of the vaccine clinics.
Members of this team could include:
Principal (or Vice Principal): can send out a letter/email to parents notifying them of the vaccine clinic events and encouraging vaccination
School Nurse: may ask about vaccination when collecting updated immunization records or participate in the vaccine clinic by observing students post-vaccination
Sports Coaches/Athletic Director: can discuss vaccination with athletes and how it can impact participation
Additional key school stakeholders who can help facilitate school vaccine clinics:
On-Site School Staff for Vaccine Clinics
Identify school personnel that will be present during the vaccine clinics, including the lead point of contact. During the planning stage and/or site walk-through, the vaccine provider might also identify how many school staff volunteers will be needed for the clinic event.
Overview
Scheduling School Clinics
Various options can be considered for scheduling school-located COVID-19 vaccine clinics depending on needs, resources, and access. For example, you can schedule one clinic on each of your school campuses or schedule recurring/ongoing clinics at one or more central school sites. You can also decide if the vaccine clinic will be offered for students only, students and school staff, family members, or open to the community. Capacity, space, and needs may vary, but we strongly encourage you to make school vaccine clinics open to the community.
Your Department of Public Health Education Liaison will help identify a vaccine provider for your school if you do not already have one.
When selecting clinic dates and times:
Special Considerations When Planning Vaccine Clinics for Children Under 12 Years Old
Currently individuals 5 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The following are some special considerations when planning vaccine clinics for this age group:
Identify a space for the vaccine clinic. Typical space options include:
Size of the space needed will depend on number of individuals expected and the length of time of the clinic. Ideally, the space should be configured to allow for a unidirectional flow through each station from check-in to check-out. It is best practice to conduct a walk-thru with the vaccine provider to review the space and confirm what the provider will bring and what the school will supply.
When identifying the site, please consider:
Configure the layout to allow spaces for:
During the site visit, the vaccine provider will help identify where to set up the vaccine clinic. It is recommended that a site map is drafted. Sample site maps are included below. It is helpful to label the designated space for each section of the vaccine clinic (check-in and registration, vaccine preparation area, vaccine administration area, and observation area). Satellite maps of the school grounds can also be helpful to plan out the parking area and entrance/exit points.
Supplies needed are dependent on both the vaccine clinic location and vaccine provider so please work with your provider to determine specific needs. Vaccine providers will be responsible for bringing all medical/clinical supplies. A list of general supplies and materials that the school may need to provide include:
Key Strategies for Promoting School Vaccine Clinics
Best Practices and Other School Outreach Strategies
Create a vaccine clinic flyer for each school clinic and begin sharing the flyer as early as possible, at least one week before the clinic. The flyer can be printed and posted on your school campus and shared digitally on social media and your school website. If you need assistance creating a flyer, please contact your DPH liaison. On the following pages, we have included several flyer templates that you can use to promote your school events. The templates can be accessed via links to a Google docs folder or Canva (you can create a free account).
The following are key elements to include on your flyers:
To use the following templates, click the image and sign in to your Canva account or create a free account to modify the template with your clinic details. You can also download PowerPoint versions of these flyers in the Resources section of this page.
Find more resources at:
Resources and Materials for Community Partners
LACOE COVID-19 Vaccine School Clinic Promotion Toolkit (for directional signs and flyer templates)
ALL IN – LACOE Children’s COVID Vaccination Toolkit – Feb ’22 updated parent letters, text/call script templates, spring flyers
American Academy of Pediatrics Vaccine Campaign Social Media Graphics
CDC Social Media Toolkit for COVID Vaccination
Parent Videos
5 Things to Know About COVID Vaccine for 5-11
COVID-19 and Kids: How mRNA Vaccines Work
COVID Info Session for Parents with DPH Physician: English Spanish
Youth Videos
Safety and Prevention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw7LnOg9u9Q
Handwashing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYK5XhukB4k
Vaccine Video: https://youtu.be/3rDHOSlH2cU
Vaccine numbers as of February 2022
After getting the vaccine
Consent of the parent or legal guardian is needed for non-emancipated minors. It can be helpful to have a parent or responsible adult accompany the child during vaccination.
Persons younger than 18 years must have parental or guardian consent given by a legally authorized representative (parent or guardian). An emancipated minor may consent for him/herself. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has received Emergency Use Authorization for people under 18.
Allowable consent includes:
Sample LAC DPH consent forms can be found in multiple languages. Click these links for sample consent in English and Spanish. The school may determine the best option(s) for consent for their student population based on age and other factors.
Proof of age is required and can be verified by the school if student records are available.
Providing incentives can be helpful in promoting your vaccine clinic and increasing participation. Some ideas that have worked for schools include:
DPH liaisons can assist in finding a vaccine partner suitable to provide mobile COVID vaccine services at your school sites.
We recommend that planning start at least 3 weeks before the desired date of the first dose clinics. This will allow you to have enough time to promote the event and help make your vaccine clinic a success! Depending on school resources and staff support available, your DPH liaison can work with you to plan a clinic in a shorter time frame.
Everyone 5 years and older is currently eligible to receive the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Everyone age 5 and older should get a booster dose:
This toolkit includes four flyer templates you can customize for your vaccine clinic events. Please contact your DPH liaison if you need assistance with creating a flyer or need to access the flyer templates in an alternate file format.
No. There is no direct cost to the school or school district
in order to host a vaccine clinic. The vaccine provider will
bring the vaccines and all the clinical supplies needed. We
do encourage you to have at least three school personnel and
security available on site on the day of the clinics, which
may be on a volunteer basis or overtime pay may be needed. If
possible, your school can choose to have additional resources
available during the clinics such as bottled water and/or vaccine
incentives.
Note: The COVID-19 vaccine is free to all individuals and medical
insurance is NOT required.
Yes! This is a great strategy because it increases the visibility of the vaccine clinic and therefore more people will be able to access the vaccine. We have found that these vaccine events are more successful.
School vaccine clinics are usually held in a school cafeteria, auditorium, gym, or an outdoor area such as a section of the parking lot. Scheduling a site visit with your vaccine provider is very important in identifying the optimal vaccine clinic location at your school.
Written consent is allowable for parents of children 5 and up, but it is up to the school and the vaccine provider to decide what will work best for your school clinic.
The school vaccine team should familiarize themselves with general information on the COVID-19 vaccine, including:
These resources are available in multiple languages. Resources and sample messaging are available in the TK-12 School Toolkit. Resources for parents are available on the COVID-19 Resources for Parents & Guardians webpage.
American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Toolkit