RI Leaders Renew Call For Student COVID-19 Vaccinations

PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island students get ready to return to school after February break, state leaders are renewing their call to get vaccinated. With the statewide school mask mandate scheduled to lift at the beginning of March, it's even more important than ever to get your child vaccinated, the governor and school leaders said.

"Vaccinations are key to keeping our learning in the classroom," Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said.

The Rhode Island Department of Education is calling for schools with less than 20 percent vaccination rates among students to hold vaccine clinics and encourage students to attend, especially elementary schools.

Rhode Island's school mask mandate will end March 4. Ahead of that date, the department is working with schools to create individual plans based on district-level vaccination rates, COVID-19 cases and other factors.

Related: Prevention Key In RI's New COVID-19 Plans

"We don't think about polio anymore, because we got vaccinated," Infante-Green said. "Let's do it. Let's not make public health political."

Dr. James McDonald, the interim director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said that while he understands parents' hesitation in getting their children vaccinated, it's so important to trust science.

"This is really the most studied vaccine in the history of our planet, the most monitored vaccine in the history of our planet," McDonald said. "Mot making a decision is a decision."

McDonald also reminded Rhode Islanders that although children are generally less affected by COVID-19, getting them vaccinated helps slow the spread of the virus in the community and protect more vulnerable populations.

Rhode Islanders can get vaccinated at local pharmacies, state-run sites and community clinics, Find one near you using the state's online vaccine tool.