The Eatonville School District in Washington state already hosted its own vaccination clinic for high school students soon after eligibility expanded to include everyone over the age of 16.
Ahead of the on-site vaccination day, information was sent to 350 families in the district. Of the 100 parents that followed up, only 50 said they would allow their child to be vaccinated. On the day of the clinic, just 27 of those students showed up.
Although the district will strongly encourage all students to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, vaccine hesitancy remains a significant hurdle, according to Eatonville s superintendent, Krestin Bahr.
That is part of the reason the school district would stop short of mandating vaccinations before returning to school in the fall, Bahr said.