COVID-19 Vaccine Access Possible For Gloucester Twp. High Schools

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — School officials in Camden County are partnering with the Camden County Department of Health to get students ages 16 years old and older vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the Black Horse Pike Regional School District is gauging interest in such an opportunity.

The district - which oversees Highland, Timber Creek and Triton regional high schools - has a survey posted on its website that asks families in the district if they want to get their students vaccinated.

“We cannot accommodate students' families at this time - just students 16 years of age and older,” the district says in its survey. “Students between the ages of 16 and 17 years of age can only receive the Pfizer vaccination, which requires two administrations, parents to consent to the vaccination, and parental presence when receiving the vaccination. Students 18 years of age or older can receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccination, at this time.”

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The county’s COVID-19 Vaccination site at Camden County College, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of the township, doesn’t currently administer the Pfizer vaccine.

However, one school district in Camden County has already had more than 100 members of its school community vaccinated. Last week, students, parents, teachers and staff at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees were vaccinated at the state’s COVID-19 mega-site at the Moorestown Mall.

"We want our school to be a safe haven in every sense, and that means helping all eligible people receive the COVID-19 vaccine," Eastern Camden County Regional School District Superintendent Robert Cloutier said.

"Spring is an exciting time for our school community; we have concerts, athletic events, prom, and graduation," Eastern Camden County Regional School District Special Services Director Susan Roth said. "We want to enjoy these moments and make them as safe as possible, which is why we encourage everyone to get vaccinated."

The Black Horse Pike Regional School District serves students in Gloucester Township, Bellmawr and Runnemede. Families in the district who wish for their students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus can fill out the survey on the school district’s website.