Local school district partners with hospital for vaccine clinic

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – School leaders in the Starkville Oktibbeha County School District hope families will add vaccinations to the back-to-school list.

The district teamed up with the hospital to host a vaccine clinic today.

“We don’t want to see sick kids, especially in our community,” Savannah Brown said.

Savannah Brown is the interim Chief Nursing Officer at OCH Regional Medical Center. With just two weeks before schools start, and COVID cases rising, she said the hospital is happy to partner with the Starkville Oktibbeha School District to get students vaccinated.

“With this new wave, with the delta variant, we are seeing kids get sick and that’s concerning for us, that’s concerning for everyone. And let’s be honest, no one wants to have to wear a mask at school,” Brown said.

Brown said the more eligible students who have the vaccine, the better the chances for a normal school year.

“So, say you’ve got a room full of children 12 to 17 years old, and most of them are vaccinated, you’re way less likely to end up having a little outbreak in that classroom,” Brown said. “Think about last year, how many times did you get calls where your children had to stay home for two weeks? Right? So if they’re vaccinated and they’re not symptomatic, even if they were exposed, they wouldn’t have to quarantine.”

Ari Piper Wooten will be a 6th grader at the Partnership School this fall. Her mother said getting the vaccine was a family decision.

“I wasn’t going to do it. But then when the cases started rising again, just recently, we had talked before earlier in the summer and she just said she would think about it at that time. And so, when I brought it back up to her again, she said ‘for safety sakes’,” Faye Smith, Ari Piper’s mother, said.

Smith is hoping more families think about the benefits.

“I’m so proud of her. You know because I think we’re doing it, it’s a good thing because you have to think about yourself as well as others,” Smith said.

Even though the clinic was for the children, nurses encouraged the parents to also get vaccinated.

“We’d love to see parents come in and get the shot with their children and, like we said, we do have multiple options. There are lots of options, but we say ‘let’s protect that whole family if we can’,” Brown added.

“Safety first, not only for your own children, for yourselves, for your loved ones, for their friends. I would say pray about it and go for it,” Smith said.

According to hospital staff, 186 adults and students were vaccinated.

Categories: Local News

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