PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia school health officials are running a vaccination clinic at Benjamin Franklin High School while Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak continues and classes get underway for the new school year. The district says about 70 students a day have been using the clinic to catch up on required and recommended shots, including measles protection.

A classroom at the high school has been turned into a temporary clinic with help from Dr. Ala Stanford and the Black Doctors Consortium. District medical officer Dr. Kendra McDow said the effort is aimed at getting more students up to date as the city and state try to keep measles from spreading further.

What Officials Said

The School District of Philadelphia says the clinic is part of a larger effort to raise vaccination coverage while the school year is starting. McDow said the district’s measles vaccination rate was 93% during the last school year, below the 95% level commonly linked with herd immunity for measles.

State data show more than 400 measles cases have been reported across Pennsylvania so far this year. Philadelphia has not recorded a measles case yet, but district officials said they still want families to get vaccinated and to make sure school immunization records are accurate as students return.

Why It Matters

McDow said the timing matters because the district is still verifying vaccination numbers as students come back, including kindergarteners beginning school for the first time. Health officials say the goal is not only to protect students, but also infants and others in the community who are too young or otherwise unable to rely on their own immunity.

Stanford said those around vulnerable children have a role in keeping them safe, pointing to babies in strollers, car seats and family gatherings. The district says more vaccination coverage can help limit the chances that measles will spread in classrooms and beyond.

What To Watch

The vaccination clinic at Benjamin Franklin High School is scheduled to run for two weeks and end Friday. District officials say they are still collecting and confirming school immunization data as the return to classes continues.

Doctors recommend the first dose of the measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and Philadelphia health officials are encouraging families to check on students’ records through the school district’s vaccination system. The district and city health officials are expected to keep watching case numbers and school coverage as the outbreak continues across Pennsylvania.

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