Oklahoma Caring Vans Back To Provide Free Immunizations Before School

Students at Jenks East Elementary met their teachers Thursday night, but they also got a chance to stop by the Caring Van to get any required immunizations before school starts.

"We just want everyone to stay safe and healthy and that's our main goal," said Caring Van Specialist Ruth Toledo.

She said they're just now getting back out to serve the community after their operations came to a stop back in March because of the pandemic.

"We're a lot slower than usual, you know, we're usually really busy during back to school, but we're just really thankful to be providing services to the communities that we usually serve," said Toledo.

The caring van provides free immunizations for kids up to 18 years old who are on Medicaid, are Native American or are uninsured. Jenks East Elementary Principal Ryan Glaze said they're happy to have the van on site for their families.

"We want to provide a place when they come up to the school site they can get that taken care of and just take one more thing off the families plate so that they're ready to start the school year," Glaze said.

The caring van is taking extra COIVD-19 precautions like requiring face masks and disinfecting between each patient.

You can find the Oklahoma Caring Vans schedule here.