Teachers, school workers go to head of class
State hopes giving them the Johnson & Johnson shots first will help accelerate classroom openings
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said the state’s share of the new COVID19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson would go exclusively to teachers and other education employees — including custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and also child care workers — until everyone in that group who wants a shot gets one.
“Our goal is to offer every public and private school worker a vaccine,” Wolf, a Democrat, said at a news conference that included members of a bipartisan legislative task force involved in the vaccine rollout. All four lawmakers endorsed the move, aimed at getting more children back in schools quickly.
“I am confident we are turning the corner,” said Lancaster County Republican Sen. Ryan Aument.
The new effort will start with Pennsylvania’s first weekly allotment of 94,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Another 30,000 doses will be earmarked to a special pharmacy partnership that will be responsible for vaccinating child care workers.
Wolf said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will work well
in the education-focused effort because it requires only one shot and doesn’t have onerous storage requirements.
Wolf announced the following specifics. They do not apply to Philadelphia, which has its own vaccine rollout operation:
■ Vaccine sites will be established by 28 state education intermediate units, working with the administration and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The state National Guard and AMI Expeditionary Healthcare will give the shots.
■ The phase 1A vaccine rollout involving the other two, approved COVID-19 vaccines — from Pfizer and Moderna — will not be affected, and in fact will likely be helped, Wolf said.
■ Each intermediate unit region will have at least one site. Most places will start giving shots between March 10 and 13, and eligible school staff will receive information about locations and registration.
First priority, Wolf said, will go to teachers who work with kindergarten students and those in the early primary grades, special education and English learning, as well as other populations that have proven especially vulnerable to challenges of education during COVID-19.
Early childhood teachers are included in the IU-AMI-National Guard effort.
A separate effort run by the pharmacy partnership will vaccinate workers in child care programs, part-day and home visiting programs, early intervention, and early childhood programs that include Head Start, Early Head Start, Pre-K and family centers, according to The Pennsylvania Key, a nonprofit.
Wolf said vaccination was voluntary.
He said he did not think any employer — public or private — in Pennsylvania could mandate that workers get vaccinated.
But, he said, teachers who have been offered the vaccine “really ought to come back to school and be willing to work in the classroom.”
One of the task force members, Republican Rep. Timothy O’Neal of Washington County, said the news conference marked the first time since the pandemic hit Pennsylvania that Wolf and lawmakers of both parties held a joint announcement on the pandemic.
O’Neal said he was “honored,” and that the bipartisan, dual-government branch showing of leadership to the public was a good thing.
Police criticize move
Prior to Wednesday, teachers were in phase 1B of the vaccine rollout, along with police officers, grocery store workers, manufacturing workers, postal workers and other groups.
Criticism of the change came immediately from Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President David Kennedy.
“There are only 4,300 state troopers in Pennsylvania, but they are responsible for patrolling over 85% of our commonwealth,” Kennedy said. “An outbreak could cripple our department. Public safety should be a priority right now. The PSTA renews our call for the administration to vaccinate first responders so they can focus on doing their jobs.”
And Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO David N. Taylor said putting teachers ahead of people who are 65 and older — whom Taylor described as the most threatened group — was a bad move.
“This is an act of shameless political pandering” by Wolf, Taylor said. “This is just terribly irresponsible for the governor to do this, and shame on him.”
Teachers, however, praised the move, saying it’s the incentive needed to get them back in classrooms safely.
“Teachers really want to be back in the classroom with all the students we can get in there,” said Kevin Deely, president of the Easton Area Education Association. “We don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way.”
Emmaus High School special education teacher Mark Spengler called it a “glorious day,” and East Penn Education Association President Lori Miller said she got many text messages after the announcement from happy teachers.
Statewide, Department of Education data shows about 121,000 public school and charter school teachers, plus another 100,000 full- and part-time support staff, as of last year.
As of last month, about 450 of the state’s 500 school districts were offering at least some brick-and-mortar instruction, according to state data. About 1.3 million students are in those districts, while 440,000 students are in districts where instruction is strictly virtual. In the Lehigh Valley, most school districts offer hybrid or all in-person learning.
Wolf made the announcement as two members of his cabinet testified at a joint legislative hearingoneducationduringCOVID-19.
Republican Sen. Scott Martin of Lancaster County focused on disturbing, recent data on the status of teenagers during the pandemic. He cited insurance claim information that showed a 333% year-over-year increase in intentional self-harm claims for people 13 to 18 years old in the northeastern region of the country.
“With our young folks, there has been a tremendous, tremendous impact” from the pandemic, Martin said.
Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said the administration’s top priority was to get students back to in-person learning. Deputy Education Secretary Matt Stem told lawmakers that social, emotional and trauma-related needs of children would be a priority as they return to classrooms.
Easton vaccine site
Easton-based Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 was designated a vaccine host site for school employees and contractors in Northampton, Monroe and Pike counties.
Colonial IU Executive Director Christopher Wolfel said the National Guard and AMI would administer vaccine for eligible persons associated with both public and non-public education entities in its region. The amount of vaccine going to each IU, he said, has been set by the state “based on an equitable and prioritized system.”