Vaccinations starting soon for Vt. school employees
A wintry scene off Hartland Hill Road by the Hartland-Woodstock line. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Starting next week, Vermont teachers, school staff and child care providers will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines as a group.
Those vaccinations will take place through school-based clinics and Walgreens, which is offering vaccinations through the federal pharmacy program, the state announced Tuesday. The newly approved, single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered at the school-based clinics, and this group will also have the option of the Pfizer and Moderna two-dose vaccines through Walgreens. On Friday, the state will provide instructions on how to sign up for the clinics, and instructions will also be forthcoming about registering for the Walgreens option. In both these settings, those in charge will have a list of eligible individuals to ensure the system isn't abused, officials said.
This announcement is a key part of Vermont's initiative to return its K-12 school population to full-time in-person instruction, which state officials hope can be achieved next month. The state aims to have teachers, school staff and child care and early education providers vaccinated by mid-April.
At a Tuesday press briefing, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith appealed for patience with that process.
"Because it is a newly developed program, we will go forward deliberately and cautiously, and then ramp it up fairly quickly," Smith said. "And of course, all of this is dependent on ongoing supply from the federal government."
The state is also expanding eligibility among public safety personnel and corrections staff on or about March 8. At Tuesday's briefing, Gov. Phil Scott repeated the chief goal of helping students get back to a system that better serves their needs.
"These changes are focused on getting and keeping the public safety and education systems fully operational, with an emphasis on the well being of our kids," Scott said Tuesday.
As promised, the state also announced it would expand vaccine eligibility to people with certain high-risk health conditions between the ages of 16 to 65, which will be a two-phase process.
"We're doing it in two phases, because even among high-risk conditions, age is still a big factor," Scott said.
This next group is phase 5 of the state's vaccination plan. Phase 5A, including those with certain high-risk conditions over the age of 55, will be eligible for vaccine appointments on March 8. Phase 5B includes those 16 and older with those same conditions, and they will be eligible for their vaccinations on March 15. A list of eligible high-risk conditions is available at healthvermont.gov/myvaccine. That same website includes instructions on how to make an appointment.
Phase 5 includes about 75,000 Vermonters. The current phase includes the 65+ age group, which became eligible on Monday. By Monday night, 18,600 Vermonters age 65 and older had signed up, and 106,300 Vermonters had been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to officials.
Together, Tuesday's announcements are a "major milestone", Scott said, noting that he declared the state of emergency nearly 12 months ago.
"And now, almost one year later, all the most vulnerable will be eligible for these incredibly effective vaccines," Scott said. "While I know we still have a way to go, we should think about how remarkable this achievement really is, and appreciate the innovation that got us here, as we look forward to getting back to normal."
Later in Tuesday's press briefing, Scott had more good news from White House officials about vaccine allotments. Vermont's share of Pfizer and Moderna doses would increase slightly to at least 15,000 — an overall total for the next three weeks.
Regarding Johnson & Johnson, Vermont has its first round of doses in hand. Although there will be no doses of that vaccine next week, the state should be getting 4,000 to 6,000 doses each week by the end of March, to be followed by 5,000 to 6,000 weekly Johnson & Johnson doses in April.
— Gareth Henderson
