3 Ways School Leaders Can Promote COVID-19 Vaccination

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We are a big step closer to protecting everyone from COVID-19 now that children as young as 6 months can get a COVID-19 vaccine.

We need school leaders like you to help students and others in your community learn more about the vaccines and get vaccinated.

Your community sees you as a trusted messenger. Also, students at schools that encourage or provide information on COVID-19 vaccination are more likely to get vaccinated than students at schools that do not.

What You Can Do

The We Can Do This campaign’s School Communities Toolkit has resources, including templates and guides, to help you with the following:

1. Make it easy for children to get vaccinated

Join thousands of other schools nationwide and host a vaccine clinic. Or partner with other community providers to host vaccination sites in your community. Let parents/guardians know their children can get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as other routine immunizations.

2. Answer people’s questions

It’s normal for people to have questions—and misconceptions—about the COVID-19 vaccines. Equip yourself and your staff with the We Can Do This campaign’s fact-based public health messaging, such as answers to frequently asked questions. Also connect families to experts. For example, invite a local pediatrician for "office hours" during drop-off and pick-up to answer parents’/guardians’ questions. Or host a community town hall or parent–teacher association meeting with a Q&A session that features local pediatricians and other trusted medical providers.

3. Promote the expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines

Now that children as young as 6 months can get a COVID-19 vaccine, the great majority of kids in day care, preschool, and grade school can now get vaccinated. Send letters home to parents, spread the word on social media, and talk about it in school or in classroom newsletters.

In your communications, be sure to explain the benefits of vaccination for your community. For example, it will make it safer for students to attend class in person and participate in after-school activities, and will reduce the need for students to miss school because of quarantine requirements if your school has them.