8/16/21 - Grand Rapids Public Schools hosting routine childhood vaccine clinics with COVID-19 shots available

Grand Rapids Public Schools is hosting vaccine clinics to get students up-to-date on their routine vaccinations for the upcoming school year.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – (Mlive) -  The Grand Rapids Public School District is partnering with the Kent County Health Department to offer several vaccine opportunities to GRPS students in the coming weeks, according to a GRPS announcement sent to families Thursday.

The clinics will have all routine childhood and adolescent vaccines available, including the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), polio, MMR (measles mumps rubella), and chickenpox vaccines. Free COVID-19 shots will also be available at the clinics.

Michigan vaccine laws require students to be vaccinated against certain diseases to enter schools, to help prevent disease outbreaks in school settings. These vaccines are required for all students in day care, pre-school and grades K-12.

To see which vaccinations are required for each age group, see this informational flyer from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The state health department does not require children to get the COVID-19 vaccine to enter schools at this time.

The vaccination clinics are all scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 26, and Thursday, Sept. 9, from 2-7 p.m. The clinics will take place at three locations operated by the Kent County Health Department:

• Fuller Clinic, 700 Fuller Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49503
• Sheldon Clinic, 121 Franklin SE, Ste. 130, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49507
• South Clinic, 4700 Kalamazoo Ave SE, Kentwood, Mich. 49508

Appointments are preferred, although walk-ins will be allowed if there is availability. To schedule an appointment, call 616-632-7200. School leaders ask parents to say they are a GRPS parent when making an appointment.

Masks are required at all of the clinics, according to the announcement.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be free at the clinics. For all other vaccines, Medicaid, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Blue Care Network will be billed.

Families who don’t have insurance or coverage for the vaccines will have to pay a sliding fee of $0-$23 per vaccine.

For all children under the age of 16, a parent or guardian must be present at the clinic.

For 16- and 17-year-olds, health officials will require the presence of a parent or guardian or a permission note from a parent or guardian and a driver who is at least 18 years old.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, childhood vaccination rates declined. In 46 of 83 Michigan counties, those rates dipped below 70%, which is the minimum threshold that doctors recommend to avoid potential outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses.

Grand Rapids students are heading back to school on Tuesday, Aug. 24. Masks will be strongly recommended, but not required, for all students, teachers and staff.

The district is planning to offer fully in-person classes five days a week.

Any students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate regardless of vaccination status. Families and staff will be notified if they or their student has had close contact with someone who tested position for COVID-19.

GRPS is the largest school district in West Michigan with around 15,000 students.