JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said no more COVID-19 vaccination events are planned for school district employees at this time.
Greene said about 200 of the 550 district employees who are either 65 or older or medical personnel were able to get vaccinated on Monday during a special event held for Duval County school workers.
But the rest of the district’s teachers who are 65 years or older and medical personnel will have to wait to get vaccinated through priority scheduling offered by the health department.
Greene said the district is in a holding pattern until the health department will be able to arrange for more vaccines for the rest of the employees in those two groups.
“I want to explain the priority scheduling,” Greene said. We were very fortunate to have a strong partnership with our local Department of Health, and we were able to schedule an on-site at one of our schools centrally located for those eligible employees to come and receive the vaccine. And that happened Monday. Everything just lined up. It was a non-student day. We were able to use the cafeteria and other locations of that particular school.”
Greene said the shots were administered by district nurses who were trained by a health department nurse.
Greene sent an email to district employees last week, telling them those 65 years or older or medical personnel could begin getting vaccinated this week.
She said, for now, the 300 or so employees who did not receive the vaccine during Monday’s event will have to book an appointment through the health department using the same system as the public.
“I understand the frustration of our teachers. They are on the front lines. They are showing up every day, doing the very best job for our students. And that is why we are working very hard to get that vaccine to our employees,” Greene said. “And we are focused not only on teachers but we have health care professionals, our school administration, anyone who is at a school level is interacting every day with a large number of individuals, and we need to do everything possible to get that vaccine to them.”
The president of the teacher’s union for Duval County, Terrie Brady, said teachers are essential workers and should have access as soon as possible to the vaccine, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.
The governor disagrees and has said the focus is people 65 years and older.