According to state officials, teachers in New Jersey do not have to spend time on March 15 to regularly educate their children to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
After announcing the extension of vaccine admissions on Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said he and other officials will be vaccinated from now until mid-March on the “exact how and where and in some cases when” educators.
As it specifically concerns educators, we will of course work with Judy (Persichilli)’s team (the Department of Health), the Department of Education, our partners at (the New Jersey Education Association), school leaders, local education stakeholders and our sites. about means to ensure full access without interrupting the school day, ”Murphy said. “It must therefore be determined.”
Whether this means vaccinations by the school nurse during school hours, a pop-up clinic on the school grounds, dedicated appointment hours at existing vaccination sites or partnerships with local healthcare providers should be determined.
CheMed Health Center, a nonprofit treatment facility in Lakewood, has partnered with the Lakewood Public School District to vaccinate at least 150 of its employees by the end of January. Ocean Health Initiatives, another local health care center, also held drive-through vaccinations in the parking lot of Lakewood High School – though the district had no role in the event other than providing safety and space for it.
Murphy added that teachers as well as other future groups – including childcare and transport workers – will be able to start making appointments to start the vaccine from March 15.
Teachers’ unions across the Garden State have stressed the importance of vaccinating educators while offering different perspectives on what kind of vaccination plans should be implemented.
Steven Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, said the organization is committed to making it ‘as quick and easy as possible’ for teachers to be vaccinated, no matter how and where it occurs.
“Combined with President Biden’s call this week to try to get all educators vaccinated, it will likely follow a number of different approaches to doing so,” Baker said. “Maybe you’re creating new websites, maybe you’re creating special times or days to set aside the opportunities – whatever it takes to get the job done, we’m ready to work with anyone who’s willing to work with us . “
Sue McBride, president of the Bergen County Education Association, expressed her support for a plan that “vaccinates as many educators as possible,” while acknowledging that “there is a lot to discuss.”
“There are pros and cons to having medical units come to centralized locations or go through a school medical team – the health care staff that may be in a school district, such as the school nurses and school physicians,” McBride said. “It can certainly be an important resource to utilize.”
She also stressed that it is important that regular school days are not interrupted, arguing that teachers should not feel ‘pressured’ to use any sick days or personal time to be vaccinated.
“We don’t want them to have to take the hit because they lost unnecessarily at any time,” McBride said. “Many of our educators have really taken advantage of their sick time – either for their own personal COVID illness or to care for a family member.”
Laura Kress, president of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association, recommended that vaccinations for teachers be held directly at the school buildings in organized appointments.
“If they could make a plan in every building … and mock staff, it could work,” Kress said. “Most nurses in the state of New Jersey who work in schools have already been vaccinated … so most nurses can help with the vaccinations.”
She added that if teachers were forced to plan appointments elsewhere, schools would ‘have to close’.
“I’m sure not everyone can do that on a Saturday. I mean we have about 200,000 teachers (in the state),” Kress said. ‘It would be so overwhelming on any of the sites to get teachers vaccinated. I think it will drag out the process longer. ”
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Caroline Fassett can be reached at [email protected].