OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Douglas County Health Department and Omaha Public Schools are working together to get more people in the community vaccinated.
"The superintendents and our director Dr. Lindsay Huse are in frequent conversations. They call each other regularly, it’s something that’s continued from the previous administration so it’s a relationship that’s been built up," said Phil Rooney, Resource Specialist for the Douglas County Health Department.
The health department held two mobile vaccine clinics on Thursday, one at Bryan Middle School and another at Omaha South Magnet High. The schools were also hosting registration and open house events, making them the perfect location for the vaccine clinics.
"The push right now from the department and other agencies is to get the youth vaccinated. So the youth are registering for school today and tomorrow and it’s true about these other schools, registration is a big deal, a lot of kids a lot of parents come so this is an ideal location for the department to set up shop," Ben Salazar, a South Omaha representative for the Health Department said.
Salazar says South Omaha Magnet High is a hub for the Latino community, so holding a clinic there helps to get the minority community vaccinated at a better rate.
"The numbers of people vaccinated not only in South but North Omaha as well, so the inner city, they’re still too low and the pandemic is still raging. We’re still in the midst of the pandemic so there has been some negative feedback, some resistance in some segments of the population so we’re trying consistently to urge all the residents to get their shots," Salazar said.
Health officials say setting up clinics at schools also helps to get kids vaccinated before they get back into the classroom.
"Up until maybe a month or two months ago the concentration for shots was on the adults but because the department and the CDC knows that in order to protect everyone in the community, families, it’s best to get everyone vaccinated including the kids," Salazar said.
There will be two vaccine clinics at Omaha Public Schools on Friday. The health department will be at Bryan Middle School from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at South Omaha Magnet High School from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
