Duval school board leader asks Gov. DeSantis to give teachers vaccine priotiry - WJXT News4JAX

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County School Board Chair Elizabeth Andersen on Friday sent a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asking him to make teachers a priority during the next phase of coronavirus vaccine distribution.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said teachers and school staff should not expect to be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine, saying people 65 and older come first. That goes against what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended. CDC said frontline essential workers such as firefighters, police officers, grocery store workers and teachers, along with those 75 and older,

“This is based on data, and if you look at the COVID mortality, 65 and up represents over 80 percent of the COVID related mortality in our country and our state. So that’s where we’ve got to focus,” DeSantis said earlier this month.

Educators 65 and older and school employees in medically vulnerable populations can get the vaccine, but the state’s largest association for teachers is calling for signatures for a petition to tell the governor to ensure all educators get priority.

Andersen publicly joined the push to vaccinate teachers a referenced three recent COVID-19 related deaths — a student and two educators — in the last two weeks.

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“They have been working overtime to meet the needs of students both in person and online while also managing their own fears and taking care of their own families,” Andersen wrote in the letter also addressed to Florida Education Commissioner of Education. “This has been a very challenging year for us all, but our educators are simply exhausted by the burdens that they carry. For these reasons we respectfully request that you include K-12 educators and school-related personnel as a priority in the next phase of vaccine distribution.”

Andersen said providing priority access to vaccines for educators and school-related personnel ensures that the staff is healthy and confident to finish off the remainder of the school year.

“Offering them some relief through the vaccine will not only have a positive impact on the safety and in-person education of our children, but it will also help bolster community confidence in the vaccine, enhance the effectiveness of our workforce, and demonstrate how much our state leaders value the essential role that they play,” Andersen wrote.

Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said earlier this month that 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 Jan. 4 during a special event held for Duval County school workers.

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Duval school board leader asks Gov. DeSantis to give teachers vaccine priotiry - WJXT News4JAX
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