A Shot of Relief

NEWS

pages by Lauren Tao story by Zanna Ingram

Relief SHOTa of

As of March 22, over 86% of staff who signed up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine have received at least one dose.

Julie Boyle, USD497’s executive director of communications indicated the district believes the percent of staff vaccinated may actually be higher because not all members of staff updated the form after receiving their first dose.

“The district has completed our staff vaccination prioritization plan,” Boyle said. “Staff who indicated an interest in receiving the vaccine have received at least two opportunities to schedule an appointment for their first dose.”

The district asked members of staff to fill out an interest form if they were interested in receiving a vaccine. Based on that, four phases were created based on an equity formula that prioritized in-person staff, staff working with large groups of students and staff in racial groups at higher risk from COVID-19.

“This helped us maximize the number of doses allotted to our staff and to assist [Lawrence Douglas County Public Health] with efficient vaccine distribution,” Boyle said. “The signup was voluntary. We did not require staff to share this information.”

Although most staff members are on track to be fully vaccinated, the district is still taking as many COVID-19 safety measures as possible to ensure that all students and staff stay safe and healthy.

“According to the CDC, the medical

• Special education teachers, paraeducators & other staff members working closely with students

• In-person & hybrid teachers • 75% of these doses are reserved for elementary-level staff

Phase 1 Phase 2

Staff react to vaccine eligibility

community is still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, how well the vaccines keep people from spreading the disease, and how long the vaccines protect people,” Boyle said.

Although there is still unknown information regarding the vaccine, many members of staff are relieved to finally feel protected.

“With two high-risk parents that I care for, having to be mostly isolated in my home for months, and now preparing to return to full-time teaching, having this protection is a huge weight off of my shoulders,” health science and biomedicine teacher Gabriel Dalton said.

Dalton received his first dose on February 24 and his second on March 19.

“The simple truth we need to keep in mind is that the more individuals that are vaccinated, the less likely [the] spread of the virus is to occur” Dalton said. “If we can halt or at least greatly slow this spread we can begin to look at life getting back to the normal world we were experiencing over a year ago now.”

Like Dalton, math teacher Stephanie Harris has also received both doses of the vaccine.

“I was very happy to be notified to receive the vaccination,” Harris said. “Personally, I feel it is important to get vaccinated because it is one more step to going back to a somewhat normal life. I think that our world has been forever changed by the pandemic, but I miss seeing my family, friends and students.”

• All other classified staff members working in-person • Staff members working remotely

Phase 3 Phase 4

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