On January 23, the DHS deputy secretary and former CDC director Julie Willems Van Dijk announced that educators will be the first priority group in the next vaccination process across the nation. Following the announcement, Education Weekly, associated with the Wall Street Journal began tracking K-12 educators, as a profession, became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. However, on March 8th teachers became eligible nationwide to receive the vaccine under the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. However, some states continued to provide vaccinations at their state-run sites based on their own rollout plans, under which some teachers were not yet eligible.
Source: Where Teachers Are Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine (2021, January 15). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day fromwww.edweek.org/policy-politics/where-teachers-are-eligible-for-the-covid-19-vaccine/2021/01
Tensions between eligibility in vaccination appointments across the nation began to arise and
hundreds of thousands of teachers faced tough circumstances in receiving vacations, with some city and congressional districts even adding that teachers may only receive the vaccine under the promise of returning to school. Such tensions across the country differed and many teachers have faced almost opposite expectations and experiences in the vaccination efforts.
Karen Drohan, history teacher here at Fieldston shared her experience of receiving the Vaccine in New York City and discussed the transparent and easy process. “Once the appointments opened up for teachers, I was able to get one very quickly. However, it was in Manhattan, because I work in the Bronx.” Drohan also added her fear of making an appointment outside NYC, as Westchester had different eligibility sites. “I was so worried about getting to the center and being told I wouldn’t be eligible. I also made an appointment in Westchester where I live. The NYC appointment was for January and the first Westchester appointment I could get was at the end of March. As soon as I got my first shot, I cancelled the Westchester appointment, and I hope someone who needed it got a nice surprise when a time slot opened up. “ added Drohan.
A family friend of mine, Amanda Stuart, a 10th grade English teacher at the Weddington High school, (Union County Public Schools) outside of Charlotte, North Carolina had almost an enticing different experience of booking an appointment and in fact even receiving elegibility. In North Carolina, public health officials in rural counties have complained of disparities in vaccine allocation, and in North Carolina, rural lawmakers say too many doses were going to mass vaccine centers in big cities, such as New York and Los Angeles.
Stuart discussed the effects of the distribution on her vaccination process and described it as a nightmare, even within her own school district. “It is hard to imagine that it is the beginning of March and North Carolina has still not made it mandatory and haven’t yet made teachers eligible or announced concrete dates for doing so…. The only information that I have received from my district alone is “future announcement” coming towards the end of March.” Stuart also added how the discrepancies between teachers in different states have not only been unfair but critical against their health. “North Carolina booking sites for teachers and other essential workers are severely challenging to navigate and apportionments are very scarce.”
Yaonna Adamos, senior researcher for infectious diseases at Columbia Presbyterian, in New York City shared the vital need of getting teachers vaccinated and the gradual process of reopening schools following eligibility. “Teachers are essential workers, and that must not be conflated with the number of people who fall into the category across the state.” At the moment we are seeing a distribution response in almost 10 states that is flawed due to mass compartments of vaccine beginning shipped to inner cities and mainly urban environments. Adamos also discussed the need to re-route the distribution fascinates just as the stage one efforts for seniors and elderly personal were. “The logistics and number of doses isn’t the main issue in this department– state governors must figure out how to change their shipments to meet the suburban and rural towns of their state in order to meet school and faculty districts out there…. The need for refrigerated cartons for Vaccines such as Pfizer is consequently a challenge, but we have seen a much better attempt to figure out this issue or supply states with Modera instead from states such as Connecticut and New York. This is most definitely achievable.”
Both Drohan and Stuart are extremely grateful for the option and opportunity to receive a vaccine and still be a part of such an early vaccination process. “I hope the recognition of health care workers – doctors, nurses, and support staff – continues after the pandemic is over. “ said Drohan. Though everything hasn’t gone that smoothly yet, I do want to still show an immense load of gratitude to everyone who made it possible for me, and for everyone else, to be vaccinated.”
