Area teachers won’t be included in first week
Teachers and school staff are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, but it is unlikely any Union County districts will be vaccinated until after next week.
Union County Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said he is “confident” the health department will not receive doses for any local district – Marysville, Fairbanks or North Union – next week.
K-12 teachers and staff will become eligible to receive the vaccine on Feb. 1, according to requirements mandated by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Orcena said the Union County Health Department initially anticipated receiving a limited supply of vaccine designated for teachers beginning in February.
He said the health department planned at the time to vaccinate those who would like to receive the vaccine at each district over the course of several weeks, as more shots were received.
However, Orcena said it now appears the Ohio Department of Health is taking a “county by county” approach.
Orcena noted that the strategy includes public districts and parochial schools in each county.
Rather than administering the shots incrementally, districts will be allocated their full amount of doses at one time. Each district was previously required to submit survey results to ODH indicating how many of their staff members would like to receive the vaccine.
DeWine said 91,000 school personnel will receive the first dose of the vaccine during the week of Feb. 1.
According to a release from ODH, schools in 11 counties will receive their shipments during “Week 1” of school vaccinations. The counties include Allen, Athens, Butler, Columbiana, Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Mahoning, Medina, Montgomery and Summit.
Since Champaign and Madison counties are not included on the list, Triad and Jonathan Alder are not slated to receive the vaccine next week, either.
Orcena said ODH has given “no indication” as to how counties are prioritized.
Those in counties that are not included in Week 1 will be notified Friday when they will receive their allocations, DeWine said.
While they don’t yet know when they will receive the shipment for local schools, the health department is already prepared to administer the vaccine.
Each district in the state is paired with a “partner” that will administer the vaccine to their staff members.
Orcena said each district in Union County has indicated that they would like UCHD to serve as their provider.
He said the health department plans to hold a single, closed drive-thru vaccination clinic specifically for schools at the fairgrounds.
It will be “one long day,” Orcena said, in which all eligible school personnel in Union County who would like to receive the shot will be vaccinated, including staff at parochial schools.
The health commissioner said ODH has indicated that every district will receive at least their first dose of the two-shot vaccine by March.
“We have been told to expect we will have the first dose in arms before the March 1 deadline,” Orcena said.
DeWine has previously said the goal of vaccinating school personnel is to have students physically in schools by March 1.
Districts had to commit to continuing or returning to a hybrid or fully in-person learning model by that date in order to receive a vaccine allocation.
Orcena said he believes “we are on track” in Union County to meet DeWine’s school return guidance.
He said the vaccine is one of three things, along with COVID-19 testing and revised quarantine guidance, that is “working together” to ensure students can be in buildings safely.
“They are setting the stage for a successful return to classrooms,” Orcena said.
He added that the health department will provide local districts with supplies for rapid COVID-19 tests by next week.
UCHD has advised schools to use the tests for staff members, Orcena said, as adults are the most likely to become ill or transmit the virus.
Once they are comfortable using rapid tests on staff, he said each school can internally create a process for using tests on symptomatic students, if they would like.
Along with rapid tests, Orcena said the vaccine will help to keep a solid workforce in schools and prevent transmission among staff members.
He noted that most students will not be eligible to receive the vaccine “for quite some time.”
Even so, he said effectively monitoring for cases, testing students and quarantining should allow for a “deliberate return” to classes in a “good environment.”
Orcena said each local school has done an “incredible job” implementing safety measures and adjusting based on the data.
“This is a hard time for everyone… there’s no shortcut,” he said.