By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Several school districts and other community sites have scheduled COVID-19 vaccine events for the next several days amid a surge of the virus in Delaware.

Dover High School will host a clinic today from 3 to 7 p.m. through the Kent County Coalition for vaccine equity with Bayhealth as the vaccinator.

Four more schools around the state will also be holding vaccinations today, via the Delaware Division of Public Health and Department of Education. The four sites are Lake Forest Central Elementary School, Seaford Middle School, William Penn High School and Howard High School of Technology, all from 4 to 8 p.m. with Albertsons pharmacy doing the vaccinating.

The Kent County Coalition also has a vaccination clinic on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Bayhealth is also vaccinating at this event.

All six school events will use the Pfizer vaccine — the only vaccine approved for individuals age 12 and older. Children under 18 must provide parental or guardian consent.

The six clinics are open to the public and walk-ins are welcome.

The Kent County Coalition has another vaccine event scheduled for Saturday — Tracy Palmer Ministries Community Day on Dover’s Legislative Mall area with Focus Pharmacy vaccinating from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Freeman Arts Pavilion in Selbyville is hosting a vaccine clinic utilizing Sussex County Library’s Bookmobile on Friday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. They will also administer the Pfizer vaccine for individuals 12 and older. Anyone under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian for this event.

“The arts community was deeply affected by the pandemic and vaccines are vital to keeping the industry alive,” said Patti Grimes, executive director of the arts organization, in a statement.

“As a nonprofit, we are dependent on our community’s support. We are honored to be able to host this clinic to allow residents and visitors access to the vaccine. We are thankful for partners like Beebe Healthcare in making this a possibility.”

The vaccination partners for the event are Sussex County Libraries, Beebe Healthcare and Sussex County EMS.

“If you have been holding off on getting vaccinated, now is the time to get one,” said David A. Tam president and CEO of Beebe Healthcare. “The vast majority of people who are infected and sick with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. And even if you are not symptomatic, you can still be a carrier and spread the virus to family, friends and coworkers. The scientific data shows the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and the and most effective way to stop this virus from spreading and claiming more lives. Please make the choice to get vaccinated and protect yourself, your loved ones, and our community.”

For a full list of COVID-19 vaccination sites, visit here.

Delaware’s COVID-19 hospitalizations increased to 152 in Wednesday’s report, which is the highest number since May 1. Last week, the DPH said 85% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were among those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. It did not respond to questions Wednesday regarding the average age of those hospitalized when asked by the Delaware State News.

Nine more COVID-19-related deaths were announced by the DPH on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 1,849. Four of the newly announced deaths were due to a review of Vital Statistics record and seven of the nine were unvaccinated.

The state is averaging 289.3 positive cases per day over the last seven days, including 321 in Wednesday’s update.