The spread of COVID-19 among school-age children, especially since in-person teaching resumed, continues to challenge school districts across Rock County. Schools now do everything they can to minimize student and staff exposure to the virus, conduct contact tracing when COVID-19 cases do arise, and periodically host vaccine clinics.
Public health officials insist that the more children that are vaccinated, the safer their schools are from virulent variants, like omicron. But some schools have seen higher rates of vaccination within their student population.
In the Edgerton and Evansville school districts, around 50% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, according to the Rock County Public Health Department. Those are the highest percentages of vaccinated kids in that age group anywhere in the county.
Since students age 12 to 18 were able to get vaccinated, the Edgerton School District has seen a majority of its students getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I think it’s attributable to a number of things,” said Dennis Pauli, district administrator for school district. “We have encouraged parents to consider getting their kids vaccinated. We’ve tried to make it convenient by offering a few clinics right here on our campus. And I think our parents are just aware of the quarantine protocols and not just in Edgerton, but from the health department and the CDC.”
In Rock County as of Jan. 21, Edgerton had the highest rate of children ages 5 to 11 who had completed the vaccine series at %. Among 12 to 18 year olds in Edgerton school, 54% were vaccinated.
There are some 1,900 students who attend Edgerton schools.
Edgerton held a COVID vaccine booster clinic on Jan. 21, and hosted a few before the holidays as well. As of Jan. 25, the district had 18 active positive COVID cases. The district currently has a mask mandate in place.
Pauli said that the district experienced a surge in cases when when everyone returned from winter break, but fewer a week later
“This week is noticeably better,” Pauli said. “We are all seeing a positive decline in the number of active cases now. We’re trending in the right direction.”
The Evansville School District held a vaccine clinic in December specifically for the 5- to 11-year-old age group. Last fall, the small town in Rock County hosted one as soon as the vaccine became available for kids 12 and older.
“It wasn’t just for children. I it was open to anybody who was eligible to get a vaccine at the time,” said Laurie Burgos, district administrator at Evansville Community School District. “My understanding is that it was highly attended. A lot of families opted to have their children vaccinated.”
The last clinic, held Dec. 14, was specifically aimed at children ages 5 to 11. Burgos said she was thanked by many Evansville residents for putting on the vaccine clinic so they didn’t have to travel to get a shot.
Evansville schools are attended by about 1,820 students.
Around of children aged 5 to 11 who live in the Evansville School District have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series, while 49.69% have gotten one dose.
Burgos said school officials in Evansville has not pushed that vaccine on the parents of students. They simply provided access for those who wanted it.
“The people of Evansville have a long-standing tradition of being supportive of their schools,” Burgos said. “This is just another way for people wanting to express their support to their part. ... They want their kids to be vaccinated to help and keep the schools open.”
As of this week, the Evansville School District had 29 active positive cases of COVID-19 among students and one involving a staff member. The district currently has in place a mask mandate for students at all grade levels.
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