PROVIDENCE – More than 40 students at two charter high schools were vaccinated early Friday afternoon, taking part in a pop-up clinic at the Charette High School in downtown Providence.
The clinic, administered by the R.I. Department of Health, was organized by Paolino Properties LP, which owns the buildings. Students at Charette High School and Village Green Virtual participated. Another clinic will be held at the site on Saturday.
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Some students came into the school for their vaccinations accompanied by parents. Outside the building, bright balloons and a simple sign designated the location as a vaccination clinic. The students were receiving the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, which recently was authorized for adolescents as young as age 12.
Kathy Vespia, the principal of Charette High School, said the sight of so many students getting vaccinated Friday was a relief. “This is such a big step,” she said of the clinic.
Like most Providence schools, the charter high school was open this year on an alternating schedule, with students in on certain days of the week.
Charette, which opened in 2018, is a charter school for Providence students that specializes in education with a historic preservation and urban planning. It has 168 students this year. Village Green Virtual is a high school with an online curriculum and opened in 2013. It has 225 students this year, according to Rob Pilkington, the superintendent of both schools.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, about 45 students between the two academies had received on-site vaccinations, according to a spokesman for Paolino Properties.
The clinic followed an on-site vaccination event at 100 Westminster St. About 25 people were vaccinated at that location, according to Joseph R. Paolino Jr., the managing partner of Paolino Properties.
The newly vaccinated included office workers and their family members, who were invited to participate.
Paolino earlier offered on-site testing at his properties. The vaccination clinics are a way to encourage people in the building to get their vaccinations as quickly as possible, he said.
In his business, people were not required to get vaccinated but were strongly encouraged, he said.
“We’re consistently encouraging people,” he said. “This has opened up so many people’s eyes about how people’s lives can change in a day.”
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.
