{"id":180276,"date":"2021-12-21T09:37:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T14:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=180276"},"modified":"2021-12-21T09:37:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T14:37:46","slug":"uconn-health-heads-into-hartford-public-schools-with-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/12\/uconn-health-heads-into-hartford-public-schools-with-vaccines\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Health Heads into Hartford Public Schools with Vaccines"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the new omicron variant spreading and the holiday season here, UConn Health\u2019s COVID-19 Vaccine Program headed into Hartford Public Schools to help fight the virus in the community with vaccines for eligible school-aged children ages 5 and above.<\/p>\n

\"\"
K\u2019hloee Delpeche, 5, holding a small UConn basketball during her COVID-19 vaccination.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe hope that healthier days and holidays are on the way for school-aged children and their families,\u201d shared Joanne Boucher, RN, director of ambulatory operations at UConn Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember you\u201d and \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d were recurring greetings by Boucher and the UConn Health staffers administering the free Pfizer vaccines at the Global Communications Academy in Hartford on Dec. 20 to more than 149 children and their family members. The clinic offered either first or second doses to those in need, or booster shots.<\/p>\n

UConn Health was initially onsite at this centrally-located Hartford public school three weeks ago on Nov. 29 when they vaccinated 62 walk-ins. UConn Health plans to be back onsite for another vaccine clinic in three weeks on Jan. 10 to offer additional doses and plans to continue to support the Hartford Public Schools communities in any way they can.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kennedy Stewart-Small, 8, of East Hartford.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Angel Feliciano Ortiz, 7, of Hartford is a second-grader at the Global Communications Academy and was first on the line for his vaccine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice job buddy,\u201d cheered on UConn Health\u2019s Boucher after administering the vaccine to Angel and giving him a high five.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important for the kids, and the pandemic,\u201d shared Angel\u2019s mother Maryelen Ortiz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat only hurt a little,\u201d exclaimed Kennedy Stewart-Small, 8, of East Hartford post-vaccination with her second-dose side-by-side with her big sister Dahlia Small, 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you getting your shot?\u201d asked Dad Kevin of the girls.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dahlia Small, 9, of East Hartford getting her second dose<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo help slow the spread,\u201d said Kennedy. \u201cAnd so I don\u2019t get COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo stop the spread of COVID. I want COVID to be over,\u201d said Dahlia. \u201cMy encouragement is for others to get the vaccine and try not to be scared. Just hold your fist really tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

All eligible kids 5+ were warmly given a little orange UConn basketball keepsake by program staffers to hold during their vaccination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaccine helps with their schooling. If they are vaccinated they can forgo a long quarantine if they happen to have an exposure,\u201d shared Kevin. \u201cThat\u2019s a key thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaccine clinic for students 5 and older at Global Communications Academy is the most effective way to guard against COVID-19, minimize disruption, and keep our students in school,\u201d shared Superintendent Dr. Torres-Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\"\"
JuanPablo Quintero, 7, of Hartford getting his second dose.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JuanPablo Quintero, 7, of Hartford was also getting his second dose before the holidays. His big brother Santiago, 14, who was previously vaccinated, watched on and shared his encouragement.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe strong, it\u2019s important,\u201d is Santiago\u2019s wise message for younger kids like his little brother.<\/p>\n

Twins were even vaccinated together at the vaccine clinic.<\/p>\n

Saagariha and Sarvariha Sunoj, both age 10, attend Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School in Hartford and are proud members of UConn Health\u2019s Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP) on Friday afternoons where they have even learned about the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am happy that I now got the vaccine. I\u2019m now a little safer,\u201d said Sarvariha.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel safe,\u201d shared her twin sister Saagariha. \u201cCOVID-19 is spreading all over the world. Now that I have the vaccine I feel much safer too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Twins Saagariha and Sarvariha Sunoj, both age 10 from Hartford.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mom and Dad are now also relieved. \u201cAll the family is now vaccinated,\u201d shared their mother Sharanya Sunoj.<\/p>\n

Kandice Delpeche, mother of 4 from East Hartford, is very happy that her youngest children Kor\u2019dae, 6, and K\u2019hloee, 5, are now joining her and their older sister and brother on the road to be fully vaccinated in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very hesitant at first with the shots. But I just got mine last week,\u201d says Delpeche. \u201cI saw this event and now everyone is getting their shots as things are getting worse. Even K\u2019hloee\u2019s been saying \u2018I want my shot.\u2019 They listen to the news. COVID is in their vocabulary now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delpeche stressed: \u201cWith omicron I hope they all stay healthy!\u201d<\/p>\n

And UConn Health has the same holiday season wish.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kandice Delpeche of East Hartford with youngest daughters Kor\u2019dae Delpeche, 6, and K\u2019hloee, 5.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe wants all kids to stay healthy and strong \u2013 and their families,\u201d said Boucher. \u201cEvery shot makes a difference. UConn Health hopes everyone has a nice and healthy holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Superintendent Dr. Torres-Rodriguez shared: \u201cTo ensure the health and safety of our students, families, and staff, we are pleased to collaborate with our health partners at UConn Health.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This holiday season the COVID-19 Vaccine Program of UConn Health headed into the Hartford Public Schools to help the community continue to fight the virus with vaccine offerings for eligible school-aged children ages 5 and above. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":180295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1715,179],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-180276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-impact","category-uconn-health"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 15:25:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180276"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180318,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180276\/revisions\/180318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/180295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180276"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=180276"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=180276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}