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Hochul announces relaunch of #VaxtoSchool COVID-19 vaccine effort

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Wed, Aug 17th 2022 06:45 pm

Campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among school-aged children

√ Says pop-up sites around state will provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the relaunch of #VaxtoSchool, the multifaceted statewide campaign aimed at increasing coronavirus vaccination rates among school-aged New Yorkers. Her team said the campaign furthers Hochul's “commitment to ensuring equitable access to vaccines, and to make the health and well-being of students, teachers and families a top priority.”

She said, "As we prepare for the beginning of the school year and the fall season, it is important that we do all we can to protect our youngest New Yorkers. By breaking down barriers to vaccine access, these partnerships will allow New York state to continue to protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable community members and keep our schools open. The relaunching of our successful #VaxtoSchool campaign will support our fall action plan, and ensure we are getting New Yorkers the resources they need to protect themselves from being seriously ill or hospitalized due to COVID-19."

The #VaxtoSchool campaign, resources and materials for parents and guardians of school-aged children and schools are available at ny.gov/vaxtoschool. The site includes vaccine information, and an FAQ for parents and guardians.

Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett said, "Some children face barriers to receiving COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, but thanks to Gov. Hochul's leadership, these #VaxForKids partnerships will help ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for children under 12 years of age. As children can catch COVID-19 and develop severe disease, and vaccination remains their best protection against the virus and its variants, I urge all parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated before they head back to school."

SOMOS Community Care Chairman Dr. Ramon Tallaj said, "Today is a major step forward. Like us, our patients are different. Most do not speak English, and many do not trust institutional hospitals or corporate pharmacy chains – but they do trust their family doctors. That's where we come in. Our pediatricians have been treating these kids since birth, and our SOMOS network is mobilized to work family by family over the next few months with hundreds of thousands of parents to make sure that they get their kids vaccinated, to continue the city's recovery – and make sure that the start of school is safe, healthy and uninterrupted. We know are our children are our most precious resource and that this will not be easy, but we thank Gov. Hochul and Dr. Bassett for their leadership and partnership."

The state's Instagram channel, VaccinateNY, helps educate school-aged New Yorkers and their families about the COVID-19 vaccine. This social media platform provides interactive content with vaccine information, prospective content partnerships, #VaxtoSchool social media design contests, and video explainers.

Hochul’s team said, “The goal is to ensure all New Yorkers have the facts about the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health will also amplify these digital education efforts across all its social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.”

Pop-up vaccination sites are located at the addresses below. Inverse Medical will provide vaccinations at locations throughout the state. Additional locations may be announced in the future.

In Western New York:

•West Side Community Services – “Rock the Block” event

61 Vermont St., Buffalo

Open: Aug. 24, 6-8 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 5-plus

•Cuba Cultural Center

38 East Main St., Cuba

Open: Aug. 18, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 6 months-plus

•Cheektowaga Senior Center

3349 Broadway, Cheektowaga

Open: Aug. 25, 2:30-7 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 6 months-plus

•Single Mom's Club Back to School Bookbag Giveaway

Apollo Media Center

1346 Jefferson Ave., Buffalo

Open: Sept. 3, noon to 4 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 5-plus

•Seneca Babcock Community Association at Schiller Park Senior Center

2057 Genesee St., Buffalo

Open: Sept. 5, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 5-plus

•Cuba Cultural Center

38 East Main St., Cuba

Open: Sept. 22, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 6 months-plus

•Cheektowaga Senior Center

3349 Broadway, Cheektowaga

Open: Sept. 22, 2:30-7 p.m.

Vaccine type: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Ages: 6 months-plus

Excelsior Pass Plus

Excelsior Pass Plus is a digital copy of a person's COVID-19 vaccination record or negative test results. Anyone who has received a coronavirus vaccine or negative test results in the state of New York is eligible for an Excelsior Pass Plus, including children under 18 years old. Parents and legal guardians may retrieve and store passes on behalf of children or minors under legal guardianship. Learn more about the Excelsior Pass Plus here.

Hochul's Fall Action Plan

Hochul’s team said, “The state is actively preparing a fall action plan to address potential pandemic surges later this year. Planning is being conducted in consultation with health policy experts and will also be informed by the voices of New Yorkers through a public opinion survey conducted by the state in mid-June that surveyed residents on issues related to the pandemic.”

Fall planning will focus on:

√ A return to school strategy, including distributing 3 million tests to schools before the beginning of the school year.

√ Getting more New Yorkers vaccinated and boosted, including the ability to stand up mass-vaccination sites again if the need arises.

√ Encouraging New Yorkers to test early, test often.

√ Promoting more access to treatment and therapeutics, including a recently launched statewide hotline for New Yorkers who may not have immediate access to health care professionals, as well as an ongoing commitment to support New Yorkers struggling with the effects of long-COVID.

√ Readying stockpile of personal protective equipment, including 20 million tests ready to deploy where needed.

√ Strengthening the hospital systems, including preparations to ramp up the state's surge operations center in the event they are needed.

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