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Dear Andover families and students,
I am writing with a wonderful update on the Academy’s vaccination plan for eligible students. With vaccinations for those 16 and older now open in Massachusetts, we have solidified a safe and equitable plan for student access. We are partnering with Lawrence General Hospital (LGH), which has set aside two blocks of time next week to vaccinate, with the Pfizer vaccine, all eligible students—those who are age 16 or older.
As you may know, vaccines have become increasingly available in recent weeks. Our students’ access to vaccines via LGH is not preventing other individuals or populations from also receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Designated vaccination sites in the greater Merrimack Valley are eager to use their available supplies to vaccinate any eligible individuals at this time. We appreciate LGH’s willingness to work with Phillips Academy.
We have secured enough appointments for all of our students 16 years and older who are accessing campus (day and boarding). Many day students have already secured their own vaccine appointments and transportation, and others may still do so. We ask that day students who prefer to vaccinate on their own choose a site that maintains our safety protocols.
This effort will take significant coordination among parents/guardians, students, the Sykes Wellness Center team, and our community partner LGH to streamline this process and ensure that the required permissions and paperwork are completed. We ask both parents and students to read the details below very carefully to ensure the vaccination effort goes smoothly.
As I wrote last week, our goal had been to either administer vaccines on campus or partner with a designated vaccination site to secure blocks of time held for our appointments. I am deeply grateful to those staff and administrators who, for months, have been reaching out to state and local officials, health centers, and mass vaccination sites for the benefit of our campus community.
As we approach this significant milestone in our vaccination efforts, I remain grateful for your continued trust and support.
Sincerely,
Raynard Kington MD, PhD, P’24 Head of School
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Vaccination dates/times: - Wednesday, April 28, 2:40 - 4:40 p.m.
- Thursday, April 29, 12:40 - 4:40 p.m.
The second dose will be scheduled when students get their first dose. LGH has set aside time for these second appointments on Wednesday, May 19, and Thursday, May 20.
What parents need to do to have their child participate:
1) Complete and sign the LGH Consent and Questionnaire document. Please leave areas blank for ‘authorized person’ and ‘authorized person’s date of birth’.
2) Go to the Medicat patient portal. Select the ‘Upload’ tab, select the ‘LGH COVID Vaccine...’ option in the upload document area. If you experience issues with uploading, please email the signed/completed document to sykeswellness@andover.edu.
3) Upload your completed and signed LGH document.
What students need to do:
1) Starting on Saturday, April 24, go to the Medicat patient portal. Select ‘Appointments’ and sign up for a vaccination time in the COVID-19 Student Vaccination schedule. This is the time that LGH will expect you to be on site and ready for your vaccine.
2) Please prioritize your class commitments on Thursday. If you have a class on Thursday (Period 5 or EBI 3), sign up for a vaccination time on Wednesday.
3) You will need to be at the GW circle 45 minutes before your vaccination time in order to get to the LGH site on time. We will assign you a bus time based on your scheduled appointment time, which will be at least 45 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
4) The Sykes team will coordinate with students/families for special situations such as allergies, or recent vaccinations, or COVID-19 diagnosis.
5) Paperwork and a scheduled appointment time must be in place by Tuesday, April 27 at 5 p.m.
6) If you have concerns or questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, please reach out to an ACT Team Member (actteam@andover.edu).
7) For students 18 and older, we will communicate directly for guidance on scheduling and consenting for the vaccine. Please do follow the process for logging into Medicat’s patient portal to schedule an appointment time.
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Phillips Academy
180 Main St.
Andover, MA 01810
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You received this message because you are a valued member of the Andover community. We are obligated to communicate with you, and require you to be on our email list while your student(s) attends Phillips Academy. For more information contact the Dean of Studies Office. |
© 2021
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