On Thursday, April 8, Fayetteville-Manlius School District Superintendent Craig J. Tice sent the following letter to F-M High School families regarding Onondaga County possibly hosting a school-based COVID-19 vaccine clinic at F-M.
Dear Fayetteville-Manlius High School Parents and Guardians:
As we continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, I am pleased to inform you that the district is working with Onondaga County officials to gauge interest in an on-site vaccination clinic for eligible students.
As of April 6, New York state residents ages 16 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals younger than 18 years old must have parental consent in order to be vaccinated, and they must receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is the only vaccine recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this age group.
The district recognizes that the recent eligibility expansion means vaccine appointments may be challenging to secure, especially for students who have limited availability due to school, work and extracurricular commitments. In an effort to provide eligible students with timely access to the vaccine, the district is working with county officials to potentially host an on-campus vaccine clinic here at F-M.
The clinic would administer the Pfizer vaccine and priority scheduling would be given to 16 and 17-year-old students because Pfizer vaccine access is limited for this age group. While it is a personal choice, one advantage for students to get vaccinated is that it would make it easier for them to participate in activities, such as concerts, amusement parks, etc. as businesses begin to open back up more fully.
If you are interested in your eligible student (16 or older) receiving their vaccine at an on-campus clinic if one is offered, please complete and submit this survey by Friday, April 9. The purpose of the survey is to gauge interest; it is not a pre-registration tool.
If the county determines there is enough interest to hold a school-based clinic here at F-M, follow-up information, including how to provide parental consent and register students, will be forthcoming. The clinic would only be available to eligible, registered students, not the general public.
Sincerely,
Craig J. Tice, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools