Local & Statewide News

Ohio High Schools Encouraged To Partner With Health Officials For Vaccinations

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Andy Chow

Published April 7, 2021 at 7:59 PM EDT

A technician from the Findlay College of Pharmacy fills a syringe with a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a clinic in Reynoldsburg in February 2021.

The state is calling on local health departments and Ohio school districts to find ways to connect high school students with the COVID-19 vaccine. It's part of a month-long effort to vaccinate eligible teenagers and young adults.

All Ohioans 16 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. State officials say they want to use the month of April to focus on vaccinating college students.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says there's also a call to get high schools involved.

"We're asking the schools to reach out to their hospitals, to reach out to their health departments, because Pfizer is the is the vaccine that is usable, allowable," DeWine says.

DeWine says utilizing schools can make the vaccine more accessible for students that want it. The state is not tracking how many high schools are working with local health departments and hospitals on vaccines.