New COVID-19 vaccine, testing opportunities for Palm Beach County students

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — There will be new opportunities this week for students in the School District of Palm Beach County to get the COVID-19 vaccine and rapid tests.

Both of these options are completely voluntary but designed to give families more access and convenience in the fight against COVID-19 as the school district has already surpassed the total number of cases it saw last school year.

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Let's start with the testing, as the school district ended last week with more than 4,800 students on stay-home orders for COVID-19 exposure. These tests could help your child get back to school.

Starting on Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health will open a drive-through rapid COVID-19 testing site on school district property for students, their families, and district employees.

A testing location at the Chuck Shaw Technical Education Center, located at 4260 Westgate Avenue in West Palm Beach, will run seven days a week from Sept. 8 through Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

The dates and times for a site at the West Technical Education Center, located at 2625 Northwest 16th Street in Belle Glade, have not been announced yet.

Tests will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and you don't need an appointment.

A parent or guardian will have to complete a consent form on-site prior to the test being administered, and a parent or guardian must be present with a child under the age of 18.

If you have a child 12 and older who is looking for a COVID-19 vaccine, the School District of Palm Beach County is trying to make that process easier.

The district is partnering with the Health Care District of Palm Beach County to offer the Pfizer vaccine to students 12 and older, as well as their family members. A parent must be there to provide consent, and the vaccine is voluntary.

Starting on Wednesday, the Health Care District will take its mobile vaccination unit to two Palm Beach County high schools per day for at least the next three weeks, with one location in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The first schools on Wednesday will Jupiter Community High School from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., followed by William T. Dwyer High School from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The mobile vaccination unit will be at Palm Beach Gardens Community High School and Suncoast High School on Thursday.

Eligible students from surrounding schools are invited to the sites to receive the vaccine.

The shots will be voluntary for any eligible students and staff members, and children ages 12 to 17 must have a parent or guardian present to receive the vaccine.

For a schedule of which schools the mobile vaccination van will visit, click here.