The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), and many youth sports organizations in our state are joining together in this message to encourage interscholastic Athletic Directors and other youth athletic team administrators to help all of their athletes 12 years and older stay on the field and in the classroom this fall by helping them get vaccinated.
One strategy that is available right now for middle school and high school athletes that will help to ensure that they can have a healthy, safe, and uninterrupted fall sports season is getting vaccinated against COVID19. School Athletic Directors and club sports organizers are also encouraged to work with DPH and/or their local health departments to host and sponsor mobile or other vaccine clinics to get middle and high school students and their eligible family members vaccinated.
Vaccination of all eligible athletes, coaches, and officials is currently the most important mitigation strategy we have available for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks on youth sports teams, and in the surrounding communities that support them. The more athletes, coaches, officials, and supporting family members who are vaccinated, the more likely interscholastic and other youth sports teams will be able to avoid repeated quarantines and testing of participants, to keep practicing and playing throughout the scheduled season, and to get back to a “new normal” for youth sports in our state. One major perk for getting vaccinated:
individuals who are vaccinated do not need to quarantine if exposed to a COVID-19 case.
QUICK FACTS:
• Everyone aged 12 and older is now eligible for vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/adolescents.html
• The Pfizer vaccine is currently approved for youth aged 12 and older. It requires two shots, scheduled 3 weeks apart, which means athletes and coaches should get vaccinated now to be ready for the Fall sport season.
• COVID-19 vaccines are safe, very effective, readily available, and free! Find the vaccine location nearest to you: https://portal.ct.gov/vaccine-portal?language=en_US
• Remember: Fully vaccinated people do not have to quarantine or test after a known exposure to COVID-19, as long as they remain asymptomatic.
For more information on COVID-19 vaccination, including how to schedule a clinic for your participants, please visit: https://portal.ct.gov/Vaccine-Portal or COVID19.DPH@ct.gov.
