School districts in Mahoning and Columbiana counties worked in concert to promote opportunities for 16- and 17-year-old students to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations during the first weeks in May.

However, student participation in receiving the free vaccinations varied by district.

More than 300 students in 19 Mahoning and Columbiana school districts have received the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations through a program sponsored by the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio (formerly the Mahoning County ESC) held May 3, 4 and 6.

These students are scheduled to receive their second shots on May 24, 25 and 27.

Nearly 100 students in the Boardman School District received their shots.

Boardman Superintendent Tim Saxton said the district did not do anything special, but made sure they got the information about the vaccinations to district parents.

“If they were interested in having their children get vaccinations, we did everything we could to tell them what they could do through out electronic communications,” Saxton said. “I think that because we were in-person learning through most of this school year might have helped our communications with families.”

“I’ve been told by our high school principal (Cindy Fernback) the kids were asking a lot of questions about the vaccine,” Saxton said.

“Overall, we have to call the effort a success,” Traci Hostetler, superintendent of the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio, said.

Canfield held its school-based vaccination clinic earlier this month and had 38 students participate, according to Superintendent Joseph Knoll. The second vaccinations will take place May 24.

“The high school principal emailed and sent an all-call to inform all of our families with students age 16 to 18 of the opportunity for vaccinations at the high school,” Knoll said. “Students were required to preregister.”

Knoll said the district currently is not planning to offer the vaccine to additional students at this time, because the school year will be ending in a couple weeks.

LOW NUMBERS IN YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown schools held its own vaccination program. Only three students and another nonstudent child received shots at the district’s two YOUCare QUICKmed clinic. The district sent information about its vaccination program to eligible students’ homes.

The district sent letters to the homes of all eligible students, according to Kenyatta Burr, nursing supervisor of the Youngstown City Schools.

Burr believes the low response among Youngstown students was due to parents not allowing their children to sign up for the shots.

“The media has had a huge influence on some parents, due to the talk of possible side effects,” she said. “There are parents saying their child is not going to be a guinea pig.”

Burr is hopeful that over time, as they see children in other area school districts and across the nation receive their shots with no negative results, Youngstown parents will begin allowing their children to receive the vaccinations.

To that end, Burr suggests as more adults are successfully vaccinated with no ill effects they likely will feel more comfortable allowing their children to be vaccinated.

“What I can say to hesitant parents is to do their own research,” she said.

Some of the district’s athletes may lead the way in getting more students to consider receiving vaccinations, Burr suggested.

“We’ve been testing our athletes before each game,” she said. “They don’t like these nasal swabs. If the students know they will not be tested so often, they might consent to receiving the vaccine.”

Burr said the district likely will try to have another vaccination clinic later this summer when more of the vaccines become available.

TOO LATE IN YEAR?

The ECS of Eastern Ohio met Wednesday — the day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel approved allowing children 12 to 15 years to receive the vaccinations — to discuss their next step.

However, area school officials say because this is happening so close the end of the regular school year, clinics to provide shots in this age group likely will not happen before the summer break.

“We do not believe the vaccine will be available for children this age until sometime this summer after most school years are completed,” Burr said. “We want to help those wanting to get vaccinated.”

The Mahoning County Board of Health and Mercy Health partnered with the ESC to provide the vaccinations.

Hostetler emphasized they cannot determine the number of students in area school districts that are vaccinated because some may have received their shots elsewhere with their parents.

Saxton said no formal plans about the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine to 12 to 15 year olds has been developed.

“It is not likely we will provide the shots at our schools, because we want students to be able to get their first and second shots at the same place,” Saxton said. “Schools will be closed by the time the second shots are available.”