JUST IN: First lady Jill Biden to visit Fairfax County school today to promote coronavirus vaccinations

FFXnow.com November 8, 2021 at 11:15am

Fairfax County Public Schools will kick off its COVID-19 vaccination clinics for children today (Monday) with a visit from the first lady of the United States.

First reported by The Washington Post, FCPS confirmed to FFXnow that first lady Jill Biden will visit Franklin Sherman Elementary School this afternoon to encourage pediatric vaccinations.

On Oct. 29, the Food and Drug Administration announced it’s authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for kids age 5 to 11, saying it’s safe in smaller doses administered, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final go-ahead last Tuesday (Nov. 2).

Franklin Sherman was chosen as the first vaccination site in a nod to its history hosting field trials for Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in the 1950s, according to FCPS. Sixth graders at the school have been learning about its role in helping eradicate polio.

Franklin Sherman student researches polio vaccine history (courtesy FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations) — A sixth-grade student at Franklin Sherman Elementary School researches its history as a field trial site for the polio vaccine (courtesy FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations)

Biden, who has been teaching at Northern Virginia Community College while serving as first lady, is also scheduled to meet Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy today as part of the White House administration’s campaign to encourge families to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19.

FCPS is expected to host a series of school-based clinics to help vaccinate elementary school-aged children, but details of the schedule have not yet been announced.

Photo via Marc Nozell/Flickr