Teachers waiting on a COVID-19 inoculation got a boost of confidence Wednesday when Gov. Tom Wolf announced that educators will go to the front of the line for the new single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Nearly 95,000 doses of the vaccine will be set aside for preK-12 teachers, administrators, bus drivers and other school support staff.

Lehighton Area School District sent its staff a message Wednesday, asking them to complete an online survey by Friday.

“In this statewide vaccination effort, the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 will serve as a host site for the operations and administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to Carbon and Lehigh County’s school employees and contractors,” the message stated. “Vaccines will be administered by the independent contractor, AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, with the assistance from the Army National Guard.”

Vaccinations are expected to begin between March 10 and March 13. Dates and times of the availability for vaccinations are being finalized.

Students will benefit

Justin Fritz, a fourth-grade teacher at Lehighton Area Elementary Center, said while the news came as a bit of a shock to him with so many people in phase 1A still waiting for the vaccine, the opportunity is a blessing for educators and child care workers. In the end, he said, students across the state will benefit.

“As an educator, I have seen firsthand how this past year has put much more on the parents and families of our students,” Fritz said. “In my professional opinion, we need to get our students back in the classroom for a variety of reasons. I believe having our students return to school will not only help them academically, but equally as important, socially and emotionally, as well as taking that burden off the parents and families.”

Elementary and middle school students have been in school five days a week since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. The district has had many health and safety measures in place that follow Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, but the vaccine is an extra layer of insurance for educators.

“My classroom is socially distanced and my students are excellent with wearing their masks and taking an appropriate mask break,” said Norine Zehner, a second-grade teacher in Lehighton. “To say I was 100% comfortable about coming to school every day knowing the possible risk of being exposed to COVID-19 would be an inaccurate statement. For me, I am hoping this relieves some daily anxiety about being exposed to the virus.”

Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the district has been promised 100 doses in the initial rollout.

“We’ve talked to the IU, and the thought is that they want to do districts in groups, so our 100 shots would likely all be on the same day,” Cleaver said. “It’s great news that our teachers are going to have this opportunity. A number of them have been waiting for this.”

The majority of vaccination sites will support up to 500 total doses a day, with some of the sites in IUs with higher numbers of teachers and support staff being able to administer up to 1,000 doses a day, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association Director Randy Padfield said.

“We anticipate most sites will be completed administering the first round of available vaccine in 8-10 days,” he added earlier this week.

There likely won’t be enough vaccine for the first round, and Cleaver said the expectation could be another 100 doses for the district within a month.

“I think we could be looking at having 200 staff members vaccinated within a month and a half, and that’s really great news,” he said.

Zehner said Lehighton still has a population of students who are learning online through various programs, as well as the high school operating on a hybrid model.

“I am hoping this gives the parents confidence to send their children back to the classroom,” she said. “I feel the COVID-19 restrictions have affected students not only educationally, but socially, emotionally and mentally. This is definitely a positive step in the right direction for the students, parents and staff. Everyone needs and deserves normalcy.”

Earlier than expected

The move means teachers will be able to get vaccinated earlier than expected. Under the state’s original plan, teachers were included in phase 1B of the rollout. A start date for phase 1B has yet to be determined.

Priority in scheduling will be given to school staff and contractors who work with vulnerable student populations including students with disabilities, English learners and elementary students. Staff who have or will have regular and sustained in-person contact with students during the regular school day will also move to the front of the line.

According to the state, vaccination hours will generally be between noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

“Since two of our schools are in-person five days a week, we are hoping to be scheduled for a Saturday or Sunday for the least amount of impact,” Cleaver said. “If we would be scheduled for a weekday, we’d have to consider an asynchronous virtual learning day just because of the amount of staff members we would have out.”

The Pennsylvania State Education Association celebrated this week’s announcement. The teacher’s union has pushed for educator vaccinations for quite some time.

“Making the vaccine available to school staff is a key step to getting more students back in the classroom, more parents back to work without worry, and our economy back on track,” PSEA President Rich Askey said. “PSEA has been advocating for this kind of approach for the past six weeks, and we are very pleased that state leaders have listened and have taken swift action to put this plan in motion.”

The vaccinations are expected to help with staffing shortages. Once someone receives the vaccine, state officials said, they will not have to abide by quarantine or isolation requirements if they are exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“I feel with the procedures that our school district implemented from the start of this school year, along with following CDC guidelines, that our schools have been safe places to educate our students,” Fritz said. “With this new vaccine rollout for educators, I believe this may further reinforce this, while giving others more peace of mind.”