Teachers at a wealthy private high school in North Hollywood were able to get COVID-19 vaccines more than two weeks before local educators gave the green light to other educators.
Educators at Wesley School, where tuition can range from $ 28,460 to $ 32,020, were tapped by Northridge Hospital Medical Center to be immunized against the virus by what they described as a ‘special program’.
“Many parents have expressed concern about the well-being of our teachers in these challenging times,” the school administration said in a statement Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“That’s why we wanted to share that through a special program for essential workers and educators, all Wesley employees who wanted to be vaccinated were able to take advantage of an offer last week and receive their first dose.”
Educators at Wesley School, where tuition could range from $ 28,460 to $ 32,020, were tapped by Northridge Hospital Medical Center to be immunized
The update continued: “As you can imagine, it is incredibly important for our faculty and staff as we continue to return to school.”
The special program raised eyebrows for educators from other schools in the area, wondering how the teachers were selected due to the lack of vaccinations.
According to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, tens of thousands of health workers and the elderly have been vaccinated, CBS Los Angeles reports. They added that they had reached out to both private and public schools to see if teachers wanted access to the 100 doses they had left.
The elite school added in a statement that it was ‘grateful to be contacted’ for the program.
‘We firmly believe that vaccinating educators is crucial to re-learning students personally. We were therefore grateful to be contacted by a local hospital in January to indicate that it was compiling a list of teachers and other essential workers who wanted to be vaccinated when the vaccine was available, ‘the school said in a statement. attributed to the interim principal. Julie Galles.
‘When the hospital informed us that vaccine was available, some of our teachers planned appointments and received the first dose of the vaccine. We strongly urge public health officials to prioritize vaccination for all educators. ‘
Galles would also tell the Times that while there were teachers who took the vaccine from the hospital, others actually fell under the actual criteria to get the vaccine in Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, a public district, turned down the opportunity to have their teachers vaccinated through the program.
‘We have asked the Los Angeles County Department of Health for clarity on whether vaccine doses are only available to teachers over the age of 65, in accordance with current guidelines, or whether Northridge Hospital operates according to a different set of rules that any teacher is capable of. set to be vaccinated regardless of age, ‘the district said in a statement.
‘The province has confirmed that there are currently only vaccines available for health workers and over 65, and thanks us for following the correct procedures. The Province is investigating this issue. ‘
Faced with a severe shortage of vaccines, Los Angeles temporarily closed five major vaccination centers, including the giant Dodger Stadium, on Thursday, even though California was above the country’s death toll this week.
According to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, tens of thousands of health workers and the elderly have been vaccinated. They added that they had reached out to both private and public schools to see if teachers wanted access to the 100 doses they had left.
Los Angeles received only 16,000 doses of vaccine this week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said, despite just over 13,000 doses a day in recent weeks. The city has so far delivered 293,000 shots among its 4 million inhabitants.
The first injections of the Moderna vaccine will run out Thursday night, the mayor added, with sites including the Dodgers baseball stadium – one of the largest such operations in the country – expected to reopen only early Tuesday.
Until then, vaccination in the surrounding Los Angeles province will be limited to second shots.
So far, only health workers, nursing home residents and residents over the age of 65 are eligible to receive the vaccine in the country.
However, health authorities have announced plans to extend the vaccination to other ‘essential’ occupations, including teachers, within the next two to three weeks.
“It will always be difficult if you hardly notice who is going first,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the LA County Department of Public Health, said about essential workers gaining access to the vaccine.
Most Los Angeles schools have been closed since March last year due to the pandemic, with political and public pressure to reopen schools.
Despite a recent sharp decline in nationwide affairs, California surpassed New York this week as the U.S. state with the most reported deaths in Covid.
While New York was hit hard in the early months of the pandemic, California – the country’s most populous state – became a major Covid-19 infection epicenter this winter.
More than 45,000 Californians have died from coronavirus.
NYC SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith, who cut the COVID-19 vaccine line because she claims to be a ‘teacher’, is offering classes at South Beach in Miami
Stacey Griffith, 52, sparked outrage last month after boasting about the leap to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Big Apple, though she is not eligible under city rules.
She now travels back and forth between New York City and Miami and holds SoulCycle classes at both locations.
Griffith’s scheduling profile on the SoulCycle website shows that she is offering her classes in Tony South Beach, Miami on February 12, 13 and 14.
She will also be teaching in New York City on the afternoon of the 11th – the day before her apparent arrival in Florida – at noon and at 13:15 in the Hudson Yards area of NYC.
Stacey Griffith (pictured), the famous SoulCycle instructor in New York City who angrily unleashed last month when she cut the COVID-19 vaccine drive by claiming to be a ‘teacher’, is now offering spin classes in Miami according to her schedule on the bike website
After her time in Florida, she was only listed on the SoulCycle schedule again on February 20, when she returned to New York, according to the website, to give a class of 17.15.
The six-day break appears to be an attempt to comply with New York State’s quarantine rules, which require anyone outside the state for more than 24 hours to file a negative COVID within three days of arrival in New York. test should get, then quarantine for three days.
Last month, Griffith was blown up on social media and elsewhere after she posted that she had received her first COVID vaccine shot. According to her, she traveled an hour from Manhattan to Staten Island to get the chance.
Griffith’s schedule on the SoulCycle website allows people to register for classes in New York City from February 9-11 and then in South Beach on February 12-14.
Griffith’s schedule shows that she will not be leading classes at SoulCycle again until February 20 in New York City, perhaps in an attempt to comply with the state’s strict quarantine rules.
Griffith said she is eligible for the vaccine among the state’s ‘1B’ group, which includes teachers, because of her work as a spinning instructor.
A New York Department of Health official said a turnaround instructor was not eligible for a shot in the 1B group, which also includes police officers, grocery workers, firefighters and people over 65.
After the setback, Griffith, who trained Kelly Ripa, Demi Lovato and Brooke Shields, went on social media to say she made a mistake.
Griffith (second left), who trained Kelly Ripa (left), Hota Kotb (second right), Demi Lovato and Brooke Shields, said she did not use any shortcuts to secure the vaccine’s appointment.
‘I would like to deeply apologize for my recent actions in receiving the vaccine. “I made a terrible mistake and I’m sorry about that,” she said on Instagram.
Last month, at the time of Griffith’s vaccination, SoulCycle told DailyMail.com that she was operating in a ‘personal capacity’ when she applied for the shot.
“SoulCycle does not play a role in organizing or obtaining vaccinations for instructors or other employees, nor do we encourage any of our SoulCycle employees to prefer vaccine as educators,” a company spokesman said.