Coronavirus Updates

Shalom School is working hard to ensure the health and safety of every member of our community and are following the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Sacramento County Public Health Department, the California Department of Public, and other medical and public health experts.

Please consult this page for updates specific to the school’s response and planning efforts. This page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

22-23 COVID Decision Tree - Updated 3/21/23

COVID-19 Testing Sites:

• Sacramento County Testing Sites
• Pucci's Pharmacy
• Ardent Urgent Care
• Town Pharmacy
• Sacramento City Unified District Office
• Sacramento International Airport
• Molecular Matrix

Where to get the COVID-19 vaccine:

• CVS - https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
• Walgreens - https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid/19/landing
• Rite-Aid - https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/scheduler
• UCDavis - https://vaccinescheduling.ucdavis.edu/MyChart/covid19/#/
• SutterHealth -  https://www.sutterhealth.org/for-patients/health-alerts/covid-19-vaccine
• Additional sites can be found at https://myturn.ca.gov/ 

A few notes from CDC and our health committee:

• The CDC recommends that children and adolescents age 5 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for ages 5 and up, as a 2-dose series taken 3 weeks apart. The dose for children age 5-11 is one-third of the dosage of the vaccine for ages 12+.

• Vaccination is the best way to protect children age 5 and older from COVID-19. COVID-19 has become one of the top 10 causes of pediatric death, and tens of thousands of children and teens have been hospitalized with COVID-19. While children and adolescents are typically at lower risk than adults of becoming severely ill or hospitalized from COVID-19, it is still possible. 

• The vaccine is safe and effective. Before being authorized for children, scientists and medical experts completed their review of safety and effectiveness data from clinical trials of thousands of children. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was rigorously tested and reviewed, and over 11 million adolescents ages 12-17 have already safely received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine: 

1. What about myocarditis? The risk of vaccine associated myocarditis is 2 per 100,000 individuals vaccinated. The peak incidence is in males in their late teens (10 per 100,000) and decreases even in younger adolescents. The dose for ages 5-11 is 1/3 the adult/teen dose. The risk of vaccine related myocarditis is less than that of disease associated myocarditis. By and large vaccine related myocarditis is self-limited or requires minimal treatment and results in complete recovery. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for disease associated myocarditis or myocarditis associated with the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) that results as a complication of COVID-19 disease. 
    
2. What if my child is about to turn 12, should we wait for the larger dose?  Experts recommend going forward with the vaccine as soon as possible. There is predicted to be another winter surge, not to mention increased gathering in the winter season, and your child will benefit from earlier protection. If your child turns 12 between the first and second dose, the second will be the full adult dose and your child will be considered fully vaccinated. 
    
3. People have told me I should wait to see how it goes for a few weeks; why not wait? While a few weeks may seem like nothing compared to the whole of the pandemic, there is anticipated to be a winter surge of COVID-19 and your child will benefit from being maximally protected as soon as possible to avoid becoming infected while waiting for the vaccine.  
    
4. My child is getting vaccinated, when can we gather together again? Shalom School is frequently reevaluating our risk mitigating strategies and loosening those restrictions where possible. Following the anticipated winter surge and a period of time for our children to become fully vaccinated, we will reevaluate how we can be together more freely as a community. 
    
5. My child is getting vaccinated, do we still have to quarantine if exposed at school? Those children who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine when an exposure has occurred at school.