As the school year ramps up, San Diego County health officials are encouraging families to get their kids vaccinated against COVID-19.
Just 9.1% of kids between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the most recent update from the local Health and Human Services Agency. The rate is 47.3% for kids from 5 to 11 years old and 81.3% for teens and young adults from 12 to 19 years old.
Most school districts in the county have already welcomed students back to campus, but the largest district, San Diego Unified School District will start on Monday, Aug. 29. It serves more than 121,000 students from pre-school through senior year of high school, according to the district website and is the second-largest district in the state.
As of now, SDUSD does not have a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for their students, although Susan Barndollar, SDUSD’s Executive Director of Nursing and Wellness, who is also a credentialed school nurse, said it is still encouraged.
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“I think the more people who are vaccinated,” said Barndollar, “the better it is for the entire community, right? Not just for the other students in the classroom, the other adults at the school, but also all of the adults in the home.”
Parents and students had a meet-and-greet with their teachers for the 2022-23 school year at John Adams Elementary on Friday. It is part of SDUSD and is located in the Normal Heights neighborhood. For Ashley and Mario Montaño, the parents of four-year-old Evelyn, they have not gotten her vaccinated against COVID-19, but it is not because they’re against it.
“We do hope to do it,” said Ashley Montaño. “She’s had COVID twice at this point, too, so there was also this sense of like we kind of see maybe how her body has managed this, and so when we have the time we will get this done knowing that she probably will need some recovery time.”
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“I think it will maybe provide one more sense of like, we’ve done what we can to protect her,” added Montaño.
Other parents of young students also told NBC 7 they have not gotten their kids vaccinated against COVID-19. For some, they are concerned about the impacts on a developing body. Mayreni Garcia said she is in this boat. She has a 10-year-old daughter, Kelly, and a 5-year-old daughter, Maggie.
“I’m still not sure about the little one just because she’s so little, she’s only five,” said Garcia, who explained she had a sore arm after getting vaccinated. “I just don’t know how her tiny body might react to it.”
“We haven’t really talked about it too much,” said Hillary Maples, who has a young daughter named Viviana. “Just because, you know, COVID is kind of up and down with everything. So if there’s anything else coming out, maybe we can talk about it. But not right now.”
Barndollar understands that some families might not have gotten their kids vaccinated yet, especially since the pandemic put a pause on routine doctor’s visits. However, she emphasized the vaccine is not only safe and effective, but an important tool for keeping students, families and faculty healthy.
“It’s good for all children six months and above to be vaccinated because it helps prevent severe illness and hospitalization,” said Barndollar. “It helps protect those more vulnerable groups of people in our community and, in turn, that child’s family.”
Barndollar added that the district plans to schedule vaccine events during the fall to make access easy for students. This is in addition to seven health centers throughout SDUSD that Barndollar said can also help get students vaccinated.
