School District revises plans for vaccine clinic for young students

LACONIA — Plans for holding COVID vaccination clinics for younger students have been scaled back, the Laconia School Board has been told.

Superintendent Steve Tucker told the board Tuesday that a vaccination clinic has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 2, from 4 to 7 p.m.

That clinic will be open to children as young as 5, as well as staff members who wish to get a booster shot, and family members of students, Tucker said.

The district had been working on plans to have COVID vaccine clinics at each of the city’s three elementary schools. But Tucker told the board those plans were dropped, partly because of logistical challenges, and also because both the state public health and school district officials concluded it would be better to hold an after-hours clinic so parents with young children can more easily accompany them when they are asked the pre-vaccination screening questions, which everyone being inoculated must answer before getting their shot.

In a related matter, the board voted to continue the mask mandate in city schools for students and staff when they are unable to maintain 6 feet distance from each other. The vote was 5-2, with board members Laura Dunn and Dawn Johnson voting against.

In other business, the board elected Aaron Hayward as chair and Laura Dunn as vice chair. The vote for Hayward was 6-1, with Johnson voting against. The vote for Dunn was unanimous.

The selection of a chair was postponed at the board’s Nov. 3 meeting to await the results of the recount in the Ward 1 School Board race. That recount, which was held on Nov. 9, confirmed Jessica Ulrich as the winner by 2 votes.