School workers getting vaccinated
MEA survey: Majority have gotten vaccine
An online survey of members of the Michigan Education Association reveals that nearly two-thirds of Michigan school employees are either vaccinated or in the process of being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Another third of the more than 22,500 respondents are waiting to get their first shot, with about 90% of educators overall wanting to receive the vaccine, according to a release from the MEA.
Half of those surveyed have received their first shot, with an
other 6.7% scheduled to do so. Another 6.4% have received both doses of the vaccine, with another 36.9% not yet vaccinated or scheduled to do so. Of that group, the vast majority want the vaccine.
As part of the full survey sample, just 6.9% of school employees responding do not plan to get the vaccine, with another 6.3% unsure.
“Our members see the vaccine as a critical component to reopening classrooms across the state, along with continued mitigation measures like masks, social distancing and sanitization,” said MEA President Paula Herbart.
“They are following the science and are embracing the vaccines’ potential for protecting their health and safety, as well as that of their students. While thousands of educators are still waiting to be scheduled for vaccination because of the short supply of the vaccine, these results show a great deal of progress.”
Some school employees frustrated
However, frustration with vaccine rollout is still very real among many educators.
About 20% of MEA members have not heard from their employer about arrangements to get vaccinated by local health departments.
The majority of those who have received shots or are scheduled to do so secured their appointment on their own (60.7%) as opposed to going through their employer.
Higher education faculty and staff are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
These survey figures are significantly better than results of a national survey released today by the National Education Association, which found just 18% of educators have been vaccinated.
The survey, conducted online from Feb. 2-8, was answered by 22,552 MEA members across the state, including PreK-12 teachers and support staff, higher education faculty and staff, student teachers and school retirees.
School employees still have a high level of concern about safety when it comes to in-person learning, with 42.2% very concerned, 36.5% somewhat concerned, 13.8% not very concerned, and 7.5% not at all concerned.
The overall intensity of concern has decreased since a similar question was asked on a November 2020 MEA surve. At that time, 56% were very concerned, 28% somewhat concerned, 10% not very concerned, and 6% not at all concerned.
While not a scientific sample, the responses were geographically representative of MEA’s statewide membership, which includes about 120,000 members spanning every Michigan county.
Respondents included educators working in a variety of learning environments – 46.5% in person, 25.2% hybrid and 19.8% virtual, some of whose districts are offering in-person options but are working with students who’ve chosen virtual learning.