This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — On Thursday morning, Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the Office of Youth joined local leaders in announcing $90,000 in funding from United Way, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Entergy New Orleans at Frederick Douglass Senior High school.

The funding is for high school youth vaccinations with CrescentCare, in partnership with the City of New Orleans and NOLA Public Schools.

“We are grateful to United Way, Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Entergy New Orleans for teaming up to invest in this important initiative, and to CrescentCare and NOLA-PS for carrying out this work. This innovative partnership is an example of how we are meeting people where they are and working tirelessly to protect our youth and our community from COVID-19,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “As the Delta variant spreads throughout New Orleans, it is critical that our young people and their families get vaccinated.”

Currently, only 13 percent of youth ages 12-17 in Louisiana have been fully vaccinated, and an additional 10% have received the first dose. These rates are significantly lower than the national average of vaccinations for youth, ages 12 and up. 

“We’ve seen what low vaccination rates in our community have done and how they have fueled the rise of a variant in our state and locally. It’s more important than ever to focus on rapidly increasing vaccinations to help protect those who are most vulnerable. We’re grateful to United Way, New Orleans Public Schools, the Mayor, and the City, for their unwavering support in protecting our city’s young people so we can help keep them as safe as possible,” said Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, Chief Medical Officer CrescentCare. “Three weeks ago, 175 students and their family members got their first doses of the COVID vaccine at Frederick A. Douglass High School. As we prepare to administer their second doses and reach out to more schools, we commend them for being champions in the fight against COVID and ambassadors in their schools, families, and neighborhoods about the importance of getting vaccinated.” 

For more information about this initiative, contact the Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families at youthandfamilies@nola.gov or by calling 504-658-4926.