CPS elementary school parents prepare for their kids to have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools announced Tuesday that in-school vaccination clinics for elementary school students will begin next week. Some parents have already signed their students up, but others are more hesitant about what to do.

Sara Humm with the Columbia/Boone County Health Department says anyone under 18 is required to have a parental consent form that is signed to get their shot during school.

Barbara Trachsel Gilliam has already signed up her first-grader Rosie to get her shot next week.

"We signed her permission slip that came home on Friday to get her vaccine at school, just like she got her flu shot a few weeks ago," Gilliam said.

Out of the 184 students affected by COVID-19 cases in CPS, 126 of them are at the elementary level. Although there are not a lot of severe COVID-19 cases in kids, Humm said it's still equally important for them to get their shot. "It's important to remember that those kids are coming into contact with a lot of other people who may be at risk," Humm said.

Not all parents are on board with their kids getting the vaccine. Sanel Pehratovic said he is fully vaccinated, but he and his wife have decided that their two kids at Paxton Elementary will not be getting it at this point.

"I feel like it's kind of young because they're still developing at that age and I feel like there is not enough data out there with these vaccines," Pehratovic said.

Sanel's daughter Nejla says her teacher has a signal to remind them to pull their mask up and she said a lot of the students are having trouble with doing so.

Rosie said she isn't a huge fan of wearing her mask at school. "I want to get my COVID shot so I don't have to wear it," Rosie said. Her mom says she hopes that the schools get to a point where they can take masks away since all students now have the opportunity to get vaccinated.

"It's really hard for kids I think to connect when they have to wear that mask, but it has been a very important part of keeping our families safe," said Gilliam. "I hope we can get to the level of kids getting the vaccine so that we can eventually rescind that policy, but I think it has to get to a certain point where we feel comfortable doing that."

Pehratovic does agree with the idea of taking away the masks. "I feel like it is kind of taking away from the personality of kids getting to know each other and there are some kids that are shy and this is making it worse," Pehratovic said.

Humm said students will be monitored for 15 minutes after getting their shot. She says if your child has had an adverse reaction to a vaccine in the past, it's a good idea to let the nurses know ahead of time so they can keep an extra eye on them during that period.

You can find the list of the CPS vaccine clinics here.

For the past month, the Columbia/Boone County Health Department has been focusing on giving flu shots to CPS students. Humm says so far they have given out around 6,500 doses in the district.