NYC offering COVID vaccines at 'Summer Rising' locations

Coronavirus NYC

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Monday, July 26, 2021

Summer Rising program offering COVID vaccines

With COVID cases on the rise again across the region, vaccination sites are popping up at the New York City's Summer Rising youth program locations.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- With COVID cases on the rise again across the region, vaccination sites are popping up at New York City's 'Summer Rising' youth program locations.

The city will be offering the Pfizer vaccine, as officials push to get as many students 12 and older vaccinated before the school year begins.

One of those locations is Fort Hamilton High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

It comes as the country takes a turn for the worse, with the Delta variant spreading rapidly.

An estimated 100 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, and experts say those people are driving the rising case numbers.

"It is really an outbreak among the unvaccinated," Dr. Anthony Fauci said this weekend. "So this is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we're out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out there and get vaccinated."

Late last week NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio asked private employers to put the pressure on their employees to get the shot, saying bluntly, "if people want to live again, we have got to get more people vaccinated"

At the Summer Rising sites, city officials say, it's not just students eligible to get vaccinated.

Parents and community members can also get vaccinated there.

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The idea is to give more city school kids something to do this summer, but it is already running into some problems.

Here is more information on the Summer Rising program:

Summer Rising is offering locations in every borough, with nearly half of all DOE school buildings serving students citywide.

All programs will follow rigorous health and safety protocols and have access to testing, nursing support and a telehealth call center. In addition, Situation Room policies and protocols will be followed.

All K-8 students participating in programs will have access to academic classes, enrichment programming including field trips, arts activities and outdoor recreation, and will engage in daily social emotional learning activities.

All programs will be free, in-person, and run in four time frames:
--Students in grades K-5 will participate in summer programming from July 6 to August 20. Students will engage five days a week, receiving academic support, engaging in social emotional learning activities, and participating in enrichment programming.
--Students with 12-month IEP services will participate in summer programming from July 2 to August 13, five days a week. They will receive instruction and related services based on their IEPs, as well as enrichment programming.
--Students in grades 6-8 will participate in summer programming from July 6 to August 12. Students will engage four days a week, receiving academic support, engaging in social emotional learning activities, and participating in enrichment programming.
--Students in grades 9-12 who have a Course in Progress, or who need to retake a course they failed in a prior term, will participate in academic instruction from July 6 to August 13. High school students will also have the opportunity to accelerate learning, and access social emotional supports and arts programming. Similar to prior years, high school students will continue to have the opportunity to participate in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).

Remote programming options are available for interested families whose children are mandated for summer learning or have a 12-month IEP.

Program offerings for high school students will depend on school community need and may include a mix of in-person and remote options.

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