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ST. LOUIS — The parking lot at Vashon High School was full on Saturday morning.

It was a day after a St. Louis resident became the first reported case in ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ of the coronavirus omicron variant, and students trickled in and out of the school in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. Vashon, host to a COVID-19 vaccine clinic, was part of a push to vaccinate more St. Louis kids, curb the spread of the virus and quash omicron before it gets a toehold.

Betty Mitchell was standing in line with her granddaughter, third-grader Kylie Wilson. Mitchell said she went through a bout with COVID-19 and doesn’t want Kylie to contract it. Kylie said she’s glad to be back in the classroom and doesn’t want to have to stay home if cases increase. She brushed off questions about first-dose nerves:

“I’m a big girl,� said Kylie, 8.

The city of St. Louis has among the lowest vaccination rates in the metro area, with just more than 46% of its 300,000 residents fully vaccinated. Among the large counties of the St. Louis region, only Jefferson County had a lower rate, at 41%.

And only about 30% to 40% of St. Louis Public Schools high school students are vaccinated, said Superintendent Kelvin Adams, despite federal authorization in May for those as young as 12.

Saturday’s event was intended to deliver second doses in the effort to begin vaccinating younger children — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a month ago recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine for children age 5 through 11. But Adams said first doses were also available for students and parents. He said about 200 people had already come through by about 10 a.m. More than 600 or so were vaccinated at two prior vaccination events, and another is scheduled for next Saturday at Vashon.

District policy requires students who have been exposed to an active case to quarantine at home for at least 10 days. Virtual learning resources are available, but Adams stressed the importance of getting children vaccinated so kids can continue classes in person.

“If kids are vaccinated, we have less quarantine, which means kids are in school every day,� Adams said.

SLPS will continue to offer incentives, and use events such as school dances to encourage students to get vaccinated, he said.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones toured the clinic on Saturday and spoke to families as part of the city health department’s partnership with the school district to promote vaccination among young St. Louisans.

She said the city is still awaiting confirmation from the CDC about the initial omicron case in a St. Louis resident. The agency said Friday the case was presumed positive after sequence in a commercial lab. Scientists are still studying the variant and its differences to the now-dominant delta variant that took hold this summer, but early data suggests omicron is more contagious.

“We still know that the best way to protect ourselves from COVID-19, and any variant, is getting vaccinated,� Jones told reporters, emphasizing it’s even more important as families gather for the holidays. “We just came out of Thanksgiving. We’re going into another holiday season.�

Jones said health officials, including new department director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, have been in the neighborhoods, at events, answering questions about the virus and vaccinations.

“We have to meet people where they are,� Jones said at Vashon. “We have to come into their communities.�

Inside the school, Clifton French was filling out paperwork so his two youngest children, ages 8 and 11, could get their second doses of the vaccine. His 12-year-old was already fully vaccinated. Many in the community are still hesitant to get the vaccine, he acknowledged. He tries to do his part.

�I tell them all to get it,� he said.