Fayette district plans vaccination ‘blitz’ for students before school starts.

As of last week, only 18 percent of 12-to 17- year olds in Lexington were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Kraig Humbaugh, Commissioner of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, told Fayette school board members Monday.

That’s compared to two-thirds of all adults in Lexington who have been fully vaccinated. Three quarters of adults in Lexington have had at least one dose of the vaccination, he said.

Humbaugh is recommending that elementary and middle school children wear face coverings and follow other recommendations at Fayette County’s summer school programs in classrooms and on buses. In all there are 7, 163 children enrolled in Fayette summer school.

He said children have been allowed to go maskless on the playground among their closest schoolmates.

There was no discussion Monday about whether students will have to wear masks when school resumes in August. Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm said district officials were working on a return-to-school guidance document for fall that school leaders would be given in July and that, after revisions, will be shared with families.

Children under 12 are still at risk because they are not yet eligible to be vaccinated and will still have to be quarantined when cases break out, Humbaugh said.

That age group can serve as a reservoir for the virus to circulate throughout the community, but is less likely to experience severe disease, he said.

Humbaugh said a vaccination “blitz” will be held at schools across Lexington in the first full week of July aimed at students 12 to 17. Those who receive their first vaccine then can get the second three weeks later.

“The hope is to get more children in this age group fully vaccinated by the time school starts,” Humbaugh said.

Humbaugh said Fayette County is making good progress in the fight against the pandemic, with less than ten active cases per day among Lexington residents. That’s a decline from hundreds of cases Lexington was experiencing daily after Thanksgiving. He said there are decreases in hospitalizations and deaths.

“The power of vaccinations to produce immunity is certainly apparent,” Humbaugh said.

However, Humbaugh said, with six deaths attributed to COVID last month, “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

New COVID variants could derail progress, Humbaugh said, including the Delta variant which is more contagious.

Increased vaccination is essential, he said. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for ages 12 and up.

This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 9:21 AM.