By ERIC SEIVERLING
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Teachers and school employees in the Mon Valley received encouraging news Wednesday when Gov. Tom Wolf announced they are now eligible to receive the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination as early as next week.
The announcement comes on the heels of growing pressure from parents and lawmakers who want to see schools open and students return to classrooms.
State officials said they expect the first shipment of 94,600 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to arrive this week, and vaccinations at more than two dozen sites around Pennsylvania could begin as early as next Wednesday, the governor’s office said.
The Pennsylvania National Guard and AMI Expeditionary Healthcare will administer the vaccine, and the vaccination of educators is separate from the current Phase 1A vaccine rollout, which includes offering the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to health care workers, people 65 and over and younger people with high-risk medical conditions.
“This new single-dose vaccine adds another layer of support to get students and teachers back in the classroom,” Wolf said. “Teachers and staff who work with our children will be vaccinated, and I commend the task force and all of our partners for their tremendous commitment to their schools and communities.”
In the Mon Valley, school officials said the announcement to vaccinate educators was a positive step towards getting students back in school.
“I think it’s a great idea and long overdue,” said Ringgold School Board President William Stein. “I consider our teachers frontline workers and welcome giving them the chance to get vaccinated.”
Stein said some of the district’s teachers and employees who fall under Phase 1A have already received the vaccine, and said the district hopes to have all its teachers and employees vaccinated by the end of March.
“I hope this comes very quickly,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what vaccine it is, when you have the opportunity to get it, get it. Students have to be in school in a dedicated learning environment.”
McKeesport Area School Board President Joe Lopretto said he’s thrilled teachers and school staffers are getting the shots.
“I am so glad to hear this news. Teachers deserved this a long time ago,” he said.
District spokeswoman Kristen James is elated as well.
“We are very excited about the news,” James said. “Our staff has been dedicated to in-person learning since the beginning of the school year, and this is a welcomed announcement and a huge step forward in the fight against COVID-19.”
Daneen Watson, president of the Belle Vernon Area Education Association, said vaccinating all school employees is something the teachers’ union has been hoping to achieve.
“I’m absolutely elated. It’s something we’ve been fighting for,” Watson said. “Some of us see 150 to 200 students a day.”
Watson said the Belle Vernon Area School District administration had arranged for two clinics with Monongahela Valley Hospital for teachers who fell into the 1A category due to medical conditions or other reasons to receive vaccinations, but that still left other employees in the district vulnerable.
“There wasn’t one teacher that didn’t want to be back in school, we just wanted to be vaccinated. You can’t build relationships by computer,” Watson said.
The Charleroi Area School District has already had more than 80 staff members, who fell under the 1A category, vaccinated through a collaboration with Monongahela Valley Hospital last month, but is eager to add more to its list.
Business Manager Joseph Gudac said the district was in the works for a second vaccination clinic when they received word it would be taken over by the state in collaboration with area Intermediate Units.
“We are grateful for the collaboration we had with Monongahela Valley Hospital to get a jump start on this,” he said. “It was our first step. We were working on a second round when the IU took the lead.”
If all goes as planned, up to 79 teachers, administrators and staff will receive the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the coming weeks.
Gudac said the IU stepping in has taken the pressure off.
“It will definitely help,” he said. “When MVH said they could work with us, it happened pretty quickly. We got the go-ahead on Tuesday to have vaccinations on Friday and had to fill 80 slots. Now, there will be a lot less pressure.”
Gudac said with the state and IU taking the lead, students may get back to class more quickly.
“It really is our hope that when this round has been complete and more of our teachers and staff are vaccinated that it will be the first step in allowing us to return to school normally as it was before, hopefully five days a week.”
Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest school employees union, said he believes most of the union’s 150,000 active members will feel comfortable getting the vaccine and safely returning to classrooms.
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