Since the beginning of November, the Archer community has experienced an uptick in COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses. In an email to the community, Associate Head of School for Finance and Operations Jane Davis announced, in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses entering the holiday season, Archer will be hosting a COVID-19 booster clinic. 

Archer hosted the on-campus clinic with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Dec. 9. The voluntary clinic, which ran during the school day in the Lantern Room, was available to students and employees who signed up via a Google Form sent in the email.

“One of the things that I think we all have a problem with is time. I have had the intention of getting the booster, but every time I think about doing it, I’m like, ‘Oh, I can’t go then and I can’t go then,’ Davis said. “And so we thought, if it’s really a matter of convenience for people, let’s see if we can do it here on campus, and that will make it more convenient for everyone.”

At the clinic, LACDPH administered the COVID-19 Bivalent vaccine boosters (Pfizer and Moderna), which target highly contagious omicron subvariants and the original coronavirus strain. LACDPH is offering this clinic option to all schools K-12, and Nurse Reed McNab contacted the department to bring the clinic to Archer. 

“We know that the booster is very beneficial in terms of keeping people safe and healthy,” McNab said. “Our goal is to keep the Archer community as safe and healthy as possible, and, so, I would hope that anyone who’s interested in getting the booster finds it to be a convenient and beneficial time to do so.”

In total, 107 students, faculty and staff participated in the clinic. Faculty and staff made up 20.6% of participants. Tenth grade had the lowest student participation, making up 7.5% of total participants, and ninth grade had the greatest student participation, making up 15% of total participants. 

“I participated in the COVID clinic because I want to be safe from COVID, and it’s super convenient to go to your school and be able to know that you’ll be safe around other people who are safe too,” senior Kennedy Schultz said. “I could just go to school on a bus and get this shot instead of making my mom sign me up at some random CVS — it’s just so much easier.”

This year, Archer is following the LACDPH COVID-19 guidelines. This includes protocols for close contacts, protocols for those with COVID-19 and, currently, optional masking. Davis’s clinic email included important health and safety reminders such as keeping students at home if they are exhibiting any flu-like symptoms and masking for 10 days and testing on days three to five if you are identified as a close contact.

Like Schultz, senior Ella Poon found the clinic to be logistically convenient.  

“I participated because I hadn’t had my second booster shot yet because I had COVID in August, so I had to wait like three or four months before I could get it,” Poon said. “They had professionals from a health organization, so they signed me in, I got my shot, waited 15 minutes, and then I got to leave, and that was about it…Having it at Archer — it’s just part of my school day.”