New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks
The Department of Education is ramping up its vaccination push for kids aged 5 to 11 with new efforts to help educate students and their families, officials announced Thursday.
The DOE plans to launch informational town halls on COVID-19 jabs — along with robo-call campaigns and pop-up vaccine sites in neighborhoods with low shot rates.
“Vaccination continues to be our key to keeping COVID-19 numbers low and protecting our loved ones from serious illness,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.
Schools Chancellor David Banks also lauded the new push Thursday.
“I’m excited to kick off this campaign and expand access to vaccines and information to even more students and families,” Banks said.
As of late last month, 52 percent of city kids were fully vaccinated, according to DOE data.
The jab rate varies by school and neighborhood, and the agency said it would target areas with lagging vaccine compliance.
The DOE has yet to require the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but Adams — along with Gov. Kathy Hochul — have both backed that approach in the past.
