When the Food and Drug Administration first approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in mid-December 2020, parents with children under 16 were left to wonder whether there was any vaccine in the future for their children. As worried parents searched for their own vaccine appointments, Pfizer continued trials and announced, on March 31, 2021, that trials for 12-15 year olds were complete with a 100% protection from severe cases of the coronavirus. With the April 12, 2021 request to expand the emergency use authorization, the end of the wait for an adolescent coronavirus vaccine was in sight.  

On May 10, 2021, the FDA announced that the Pfizer vaccine would be approved for adolescents 12-15 years old. Two days after this announcement, and immediately following the approval of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Parker parents received an email announcing a partnership with Instavaxx to offer a three day coronavirus vaccine clinic beginning on May 14, 2021. The first day of the clinic was open to Parker students only, with the following two days open to all Chicagoans between the ages of 12-18. 

This vaccine clinic was not the first time Parker took an active role in obtaining vaccination for members of the school community. Following the initial vaccine approval, Parker partnered with a different vaccine provider to obtain vaccinations for faculty and staff as soon as available in the vaccination priority schedule. As professors from Harvard Medical School have stated that vaccination is the best path back to a pre-pandemic life, Parker was eager to find new opportunities to help vaccinate Americans in need of a shot. “Throughout the pandemic the administration and the school’s group of medical advisors have thought about how Parker could help provide vaccines when they were available,” said Parker Principal Dr. Daniel Frank. With the goal of helping to end the pandemic through vaccination, Parker’s vaccine clinic provided 692 vaccinations over the three days of the clinic. 

Parker was not the only independent school that wanted to make it easy for students to roll up their sleeves for vaccination. On May 5, 2021, in anticipation for the FDA’s approval, one week before Parker’s announcement, the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School announced a one-time planned vaccine clinic for Bernard Zell students only. While it might have been less complicated to offer vaccine to only Parker students, Parker is about “citizenship and leadership in the community–that is why we took a community rather than a “Parker only” approach, which was easy to do as these values resonated with so many people that we had a great outpouring of volunteers to help at the clinic throughout the weekend,” explained Frank. In staying true to the mission, Parker took the responsibility to meaningfully participate in our society by opening the vaccine clinic to the broader community. 

Planning the vaccine clinic required significant coordination throughout the Parker community.  Throughout the pandemic, communication regarding COVID-19 protocols, safety, and any positive cases have come primarily from the Parker nurses, Nurse Anne Nelson and Nurse Shelby Turner. While Nurse Anne, as she is known throughout the Parker community, worked closely with the Administration, the teachers, and the medical sub-committee of the Board of Trustees, parents consistently turned to Nurse Anne for information during the pandemic school year. When it came time for the vaccine clinic, parents again began calling Nurse Anne to ask about bringing a vaccine clinic to Parker even before the official FDA approval for adolescents. 

The Parents’ Association Co-Chairs, along with members of the Parents’ Association Executive Team, researched potential providers for an on-site clinic and shared the information with Nurse Anne. One of the suggested providers was Instavaxx, a provider that operates a vaccine clinic at Lincoln Park at 2674 N. Halsted. Nurse Anne shared that she contacted Parker parent and member of the medical sub-committee, Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz, asking, “do you know this place, Instavaxx, and he said, yeah I know the owner… and the rest is history.” Despite the incredibly short timeframe, Dr. Rosenkranz obtained the necessary approvals from Dr. Frank and other members of the medical sub-committee to offer the vaccine clinic at Parker. The entire process from suggestion to vaccination was 10 days.  

Excitement filled Parker’s Big Gym and the Bailey Garden, where people waited for their turn to be jabbed by Nurse Anne, Nurse Shelby, and other vaccinators. “I loved the positive spirit of the clinic,” said Nurse Anne. “The people were happy to be at school getting their families vaccinated.” Students who received their vaccine at the May 14 clinic agreed with Nurse Anne. “I felt it was a very efficient, safe, and overall good experience,” said sophomore Kai Contractor, who received his first dose of the vaccine at Parker. Seventh grader Ari Deutsch echoed a similar sentiment as Contractor. “I liked getting the vaccine at Parker. It was a friendly and familiar environment,” Deutsch said. Nurse Shelby shared a similar excitement. “It was awesome to see Parker students so excited to roll up their sleeves and do their part to protect themselves and others. The gym was filled with hope and happiness—it was an honor to be a part of,” said Shelby. According to Nurse Anne, close to 500 members of the Parker community received a vaccine over the course of the three day clinic. 

With the expanded vaccine availability, the majority of Parker students in both Middle and Upper School are now vaccine eligible. With vaccination, there is cautious optimism for a return to pre-pandemic life at Parker. “Hopefully, the more people who are vaccinated, the healthier the community will be, and the healthier the community becomes the more likely city health guidelines will allow schools to return to a more normal set of arrangements,” Frank said when asked about the impact of the vaccine on the 2021-22 school year. “We will study the situation closely over the summer with frequent updates to our community along the way.”

With nearly 700 people vaccinated over the three day Parker vaccine clinic, those near-700 people will return the weekend of June 4 for second doses and, potentially, new people seeking first doses. “We’re going to continue the clinics, we are going to do both first and second shots on June 4th, and after graduation, probably at the end of June, we’ll probably do another one, (vaccine clinic) so stay tuned,” Nurse Anne said. With additional clinics planned for the weekend of June 4, and likely other dates throughout the summer, Parker will continue to play a positive role in ending the pandemic through increased access to coronavirus vaccine to all Chicagoans.