Teens receive vaccinations FDA approves use of Pfizer vaccines for adolescents 12 and up
Harry Davidson Assistant Copy Editor pper School students have begun receiving their COVID-19 vaccines over the past few months, with many more students planning on getting them in the near future. Vaccinations will create a safer environment for the students and staff of CESJDS and will minimize the risk factor of in-person learning. As of May 10, 55% of 100 surveyed high school students have received at least their first shot. Each week, as the number of vaccinated students rises, the school atmosphere gets increasingly safer for everyone. “I think as JDS students, if we’re going in person, we need to do our best to ensure that it’s safe for in-person learning,” sophomore Benjamin Weiss said. “By getting vaccinated, if eligible, that is an example of how students can make the school a safer place.” In order to protect students and faculty and make in-person learning safe, JDS decided that every student in an eligible age group
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“As a member of a community you’re not just protecting yourself by getting vaccinated. You’re protecting your family and your school and everyone that you come into contact with,” -Sophomore Jamin Weiss
will be required to have the vaccine next year. This decision ensures safety for everyone in the building next year. Head Nurse Heather Greenblum, who helps oversee many decisions regarding school policies on COVID-19, believes that a vaccine requirement for next year will allow for more freedom within a safe environment. “If we can get all students 12 and older fully vaccinated in time for school in the fall, that will significantly impact our ability to safely have all of our students and staff in the building together,” Greenblum said. Requiring vaccination ensures that the building will be a safe setting for all the students, and assures parents that it is safer sending their kids to school. Dr. Rebecca Gross, parent of sophomore Jonah Gross, is on the school medical committee which made the decision to make vaccines mandatory and believes that it is a crucial step in returning to normalcy. “[A vaccine requirement] allows the school to be more safe and al-
lows for more in person activity, both academically and socially. It keeps our community safe,” Gross said. “It will give parents the confidence and comfort and make it feel safe to send their kids back to school.” While the school will still take precautions, students and teachers who felt the stress of the pandemic can feel safer taking risks that they may not have been comfortable taking this year. “I think that having a mandatory vaccine requirement next year would make myself feel much safer when I go to school,” Weiss said. “As a whole I think it would improve the safety of JDS, and I wouldn’t have to constantly be thinking about being safe and socially distant.” Getting the vaccine and finding a place that offers it is a relatively simple process considering Washington, D.C. and Maryland are both giving them out to everyone 12 and up. Also, vaccines are available at a wide variety of places such as grocery stores, pharmacies and mass-vaccination centers. As the only vaccine currently approved for people below the age of 18 is Pfiz-
n Record Card o ti a in c c t the a V 9 formation abou COVID -1 des medical in rd, which inclu is record ca Please keep th ve received. vaccines you ha
Students Last Name
CESJDS First Name
08/31/2004 Date Of Birth
MI
er Patient Numb
Vaccine
Product Name
1st dose
Pfizer
Clinic Site
Date ted
Statistics upda May 10
2nd dose Other
6 May 2021
