Students with special needs over the age of 16 are now eligible
to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and at last count, more than 500 students and
parents in Lakewood have already signed up.
CHEMED Health Center has partnered with the Lakewood School District to
provide the shots to students.
“Now I will be able to go out and actually have
socialization, see the world not being cooped up in the house,” says student
Pessy Blonder.
Lakewood has become the first district in the
state to provide eligible students over the age of 16 with the vaccine if they
so choose. The town is also one of the only districts in the entire state to
remain in-person, full-time instruction since the fall. For parents
of special-needs children, the pandemic created even more challenges. Now,
there is at least some relief.
The shots will be provided on the grounds of the
high school Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and again next
week through a second partnership with RWJ Barnabas Health.
“For the families that were fearful, it will
allow them to send their children to in-person learning, and it will
allow them who are in school to feel better,” says Lakewood Public Schools
Superintendent Laura Winters.
The vaccine is optional and not
a requirement.
“I can bring my mom and dad to take the shot.
I'll feel more happy,” says Miguel Xahuentila, a 16-year-old
sophomore at Lakewood High School. “I will help my family out.”
School officials have requested Gov. Phil
Murphy’s office to give them permission to make the vaccine available to all
students 16 years and older before the April 19 date set by the state.