Coronaviruus Update
As Texas Prepares to Receive its First Allotments
Vaccination Access Priority Sought
For Texas Teachers and Principals
As Texas was preparing to receive its first supplies of COVID-19 vaccine as this issue went to press, Texas school officials were asking state authorities to put school employees, especially teachers, high on the list of the first Texans to be vaccinated.
The requests were spurred by the recent announcement by Gov. Abbott that Texas is expected to receive more than 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by mid-December, with additional allotments possible later in the month.
The first vaccine to be delivered is the one manufactured by Pfizer, which requires two doses per person (three weeks apart) to be effective — making the initial supply of the vaccine expected to serve 700,000 Texans.
Only those who choose to be immunized will be provided the vaccine, the governor said.
An Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel created by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is charged with making recommendations for allocating COVID-19 vaccinations.
Under a list, updated on Dec. 4 (updates posted here), the protection of health care workers, frontline workers, and vulnerable populations who are at greater risk of severe disease and death if they were to contract the coronavirus are among the several categories of those who will initially be offered the opportunity to be vaccinated.
School Nurses
School nurses are listed in a so-called “Phase 1A” category of front line workers who are next on the list to receive immunizations, either if Texas has leftover supplies of the vaccine after the initial delivery, and if not, by tapping into the second batch delivered to the state.
- Note: The Phase 1A list also includes a diverse grouping of other professionals, such as funeral home embalmers and other workers who have direct contact with descedents, as well as medical professionals who work with patents in out-patient settings.
The vaccine may not be available to the general public in Texas until some time in mid 2021 at the earliest.
Separate letters sent Dec. 3 to the governor included those from:
- Fort Worth ISD Superintendent/Texas Urban Council of Superintendents Chair Kent P. Scribner, asking that teachers and principals be included in the initial distribution of COVID-19, with priority given to educators who work in the cities and counties where coronavirus infection rates are the highest.
“Our campus-based educators are on the front lines every day,” Scribner’s letter says. (The council represents 10 of the state’s largest ISDs.)
- Corpus Christi ISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez, president of the Texas School Alliance, which has 41 ISD members representing more than 2 million students.
The
letter acknowledges that while front line medical workers and older Texans in residential facilities “certainly are the first priority,” providing the vaccine in the initial group or in the second phase would be a great asset in keeping the teachers in Texas actively engaged in teaching for the coming months.
The Association of Texas Professional Educators in a press release (Dec. 3), emphasized the role vaccines could play in getting students and educators back into their classrooms, where most students fare better than in a remote learning environment.
As of last school year, Texas ISDs and charters reported employing more than 363,000 teachers and nearly 8,300 principals.