Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Brooklyn School Launches New National Vaccine Information Hub for Students, Families

In partnership with health and education organizations, Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools is tackling vaccine hesitancy through education
IMG_5584-1
LAB classroom. Photo: Supplied.

Schools across the country have a vital role to play in supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts and fighting misinformation, Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools (LAB) Executive Director Eric Tucker says.

With many Americans reluctant to be vaccinated, and many not knowing how to get a vaccine, he said schools needed to step up and help.

"Our public schools have incredible reach into practically every community in America. We can help combat the quickfire spread of misinformation, and we can help Americans find the best place to get their vaccine — supporting the aim of herd immunity."

LAB Executive Director Eric Tucker. Photo: Supplied.

In an effort to do that, LAB has partnered with EquityByDesign.org and other health and education organizations to launch the School Vaccine Hub — a centralized platform with credible vaccine information and accompanying lesson plans and curricular tools.

LAB COO Aaron Daly said schools in Brooklyn were uniquely positioned to help Brooklyn residents, given their depth of relationships in the communities where students live, play, learn, and grow. 

"As highly-valued community institutions, schools in Brooklyn have the capacity to touch so many people from so many different walks of life."

The online platform curates high-quality resources for schools and school leaders,, including information from public health institutions like the CDC, the FDA, and the World Health Organization; and media organizations like CNN, NPR, ProPublica, The Atlantic, Quartz and The 19th.

The idea is for schools to use the information to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations and address fears and concerns about vaccines in America's diverse public school communities. The hub includes a range of resources offered in multiple different languages.

School Vaccine Hub Project Lead and founder of the Community Success Institute L. Arthi Krishnaswami said community transparency was critical in building confidence in the vaccine.

"Schools are a central point of contact for many communities, and with the right information, they can be empowered to play a crucial role in building trust in their communities," she said.

The site incorporates data from the COVID Collaborative, a national group of leading experts that partnered with the Ad Council to create a COVID-19 vaccine public education campaign. Content includes infographics, articles, videos and high school and middle school COVID-19 curriculum.

In a statement, LAB said creators intentionally included content from respected institutions, with information from Yale Medicine, Our World in Data and the National Institute of Health, among others.

LAB said the hub will reach thousands of schools through a distribution partnership with over 80 educational organizations from Educating All Learners Alliance, including the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the Center for Learner Equity, InnovateEDU, Digital Promise and ISTE.




Comments