A COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children ages 5-18 that was supposed to open at the Lisbon Community School gymnasium this week has been canceled.

Julie Nichols, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at the Lisbon School Department, said their partner agency, Public Health Nursing, canceled the clinic because they were not willing to operate after school hours.

The school department was planning to host clinics for the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from 3-7 p.m. on Jan. 6-7 with second doses on Jan. 27 and 28.

Nichols said in a previous interview that the district wasn’t holding clinics during the day out of respect for the families who do not want their children exposed to the clinics and to allow school nurses to focus on their day-to-day operations.

“Our partner canceled our clinic,” said Nichols. “They would only support a school day clinic done during school hours.”

There are 1,216 children ages 5-18 in the Lisbon School Department.

As of Dec. 23, at least 69 COVID-19 positive cases were reported from Lisbon High School, Lisbon Community School and Philip W. Sugg Middle School, according to Maine schools 30-day COVID-19 case report.

In November, the school department started a COVID-19 vaccination clinic survey for the families to prepare for the clinic and to know how many children to expect. However, they ended the survey abruptly after the partner clinic refused to set up the clinic.

Nichols said parents have been informed about the cancellation.

“Since our cancelation, a few families opted for the Auburn Mall clinic, but I have no specific data to share,” Nichols said.

Most school departments in the Midcoast set up vaccination clinics for children in November last year. Children can also get the vaccine at retail pharmacies, including Hannaford, Walgreens, Walmart or Sam’s Club.

As an alternative, Nichols said the school district registered through Maine Health to set up a pop-up clinic in the community but have not heard back.

As of Jan. 2, 65,292 children ages 5-11 and 162,428 children ages 12-19 are fully vaccinated in Maine. While 36,418 children ages 5-11 received their first dose of vaccination, 28,874 children got their second dose, according to the Maine COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

Cumberland County recorded the highest vaccination rate with 22,922 children ages 5-11 fully vaccinated so far.  Androscoggin County has 4,383 children vaccinated and Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties have 1,936 and 1,694 children fully vaccinated, respectively.