Major push to get COVID vaccines for Fresno teachers begins Monday. 40,000 doses set aside
Teachers in Fresno County will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to an email the Fresno Unified School District sent to its staff.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health has committed to set aside “at least” 40,000 vaccinations for educators just for the month of March, the email said.
“So, if you aren’t able to get in first thing on Monday for an appointment, please be patient and know that your turn is coming soon,” officials said in the email. “We are so grateful that so many of our educators are interested in being vaccinated and know that we are making it top priority to get this vaccine to you ASAP.”
The district confirmed in the email the county health department will also set thousands of vaccinations aside next week specifically for Fresno Unified teachers.
FUSD is also working with “several” health providers, including Valley Children’s Hospital, to provide “FUSD-only” vaccination clinics, the email said. When the district’s vaccination clinics are available, FUSD is going to prioritize educators who have already been working with students in-person, those returning on March 8 to provide in-person supports to students on Mondays, and staff ages 65+or with high-risk conditions.
The Clovis Unified School District has partnered with vaccination provider groups to have blocks of appointments set aside for its employees, district officials said in a statement. The district’s educators with the highest health and exposure risks will be prioritized for block appointments. Teachers with medium and low-risk exposures will be next in line.
“We anticipate by next week that all risk groups will be offered vaccination appointment dates and times,” the statement said.
Central Unified School District teachers will have vaccinations for those interested on Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Central High East Campus, officials said in a statement. More than 900 employees have expressed interest.
“We are grateful to United Health Centers for offering to quickly vaccinate and protect the health of our educators so we can bring our students back to campuses quickly and safely,” Central Superintendent Andrew Alvarado said in a statement.
Will teacher vaccinations help FUSD reopen quicker?
Although Fresno Unified teachers will start to receive the vaccine, its current reopening plan will not be changed, officials told The Bee’s Education Lab in an email.
“However, we’ve never backed away from the negotiation table with our labor partners and as more accessible mitigations such as widespread access to vaccines and surveillance testing become a reality we are discussing how that affects our safe and stable return to in-person learning,” FUSD spokesperson Nikki Henry said.
Fresno Unified has a different approach to reopening its campuses than some of the other large districts in the county.
FUSD will continue distance learning until the county reaches the orange Tier 3 in the state’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” of coronavirus safety measures and restrictions. The orange tier represents “moderate” risk levels for spreading COVID-19. To get to the orange tier, positive coronavirus cases would need to dip between 1 and 3.9 daily cases per 100,000.
Fresno Unified has had pressure from city council members to reopen.
Fresno Councilmember Garry Bredefeld held a press conference at the beginning of the month and intended to place a proposal on the city council’s agenda to initiate a lawsuit and reopen schools immediately during the coronavirus pandemic. A week later, the Fresno City Council voted 4-3 to remove the discussion from its agenda, killing the proposal without debate.
FUSD Superintendent Bob Nelson took to Twitter to call out Bredefeld’s proposal.
“So how is that current two-party system working for you, Fresnans?” he asked. “Nothing like politicizing an issue as serious as a safe and responsible return to schools in order to rally a support base. The only thing this release lacked was face paint, Viking horns, and a Chewbacca onesie.”
A “Save Our Kids” rally to reopen Fresno schools will be held at City Hall on March 6 from 10-11 a.m. Child experts and community leaders will be speaking.
Other districts like Clovis Unified and Sanger Unified have had students on campuses since the end of last year and have continued to bring back more students. Central Unified has small cohorts of students
Clovis Unified has applied to be an official vaccination site in order to get their teachers, staff, and community vaccinated as soon as possible. That could begin in late March, district officials said.
Central Unified has partnered with United Health Centers to use the parking lot of Central High School’s east campus as a vaccination site for healthcare workers and the elderly since mid-January, officials said. The campus has also been utilized as a COVID-19 testing site every Tuesday since December.
FUSD also will be using Gaston Middle School as a vaccination site for community members who are eligible.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 6:33 PM.