Snyder: Teachers expected to be moved into 1A vaccination phase
State Rep. Pam Snyder is applauding the state Department of Health’s decision to include teachers in the “Phase 1A” vaccine grouping.
Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced om March 3 that Pennsylvania will use the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for PreK-12 teachers and other school staff.
“This new single-dose vaccine adds another layer of support to get students and teachers back in the classroom,” Wolf said in a news release. “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.”
Snyder,D-Jefferson, said the decision “certainly good news for our teachers and school staff, many of whom have had to be working in classrooms for some time and in close proximity to our young people and other staffers.”
Snyder’s comments were made prior to Wolf’s official announcement, after previously leaked emails seemed to indicate that the state was planning to elevate educators into the top priority grouping.
Snyder was alluding to a Feb. 24 letter she and fellow Democratic state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro of Erie sent to Acting Health Secretary Allison Beam asking for other frontline workers to be included in the 1A grouping, such as educators and corrections officers. Snyder said she was disappointed the latter apparently will not be included in the updated priority listing.
“While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it’s imperative we not only vaccinate these and other high-risk populations across our great state and keep health systems alert on any updates or changes to the ongoing vaccine rollout,” Snyder said.
Muriel Nuttall, executive director of Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the county’s task force that is coordinating the COVID-19 vaccination process, was cautiously optimistic about Wolf’s proposed changes.
“We’re encouraged. We’re excited to hear what he has to say to make this happen,” Nuttall said. “The task force has always been supportive of getting our teachers vaccinated, along with all of our frontline workers. … We’re anxious to get our kids back in school and get back to a sense of normalcy.”
The task force has always made it a priority for teachers and educators to get vaccinated when the doses become available, which has been problematic as the demand for the vaccine has outweighed the supply.
“If the state gets us vaccine, we’ll put them in arms quickly,” she said. “They have to get the supplies moving effectively.”
State Health Department officials on March 2 said Pennsylvania received more than 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine during the week. And with the introduction of the new single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine that began rolling out to states recently, Nuttall is hoping the region receives more doses.
“It seems to be imbalanced. Some areas get it and some areas don’t get it. I don’t understand. None of us do. It doesn’t seem to be a transparent process,” she said. “People are desperate for this vaccine and we’re ready to give it to them.”