Name: All Texas school employees, childcare workers can now get COVID vaccine
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All Texas school employees, childcare workers can now get COVID vaccine

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All Texas school employees and child care workers now are eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of State Health Services Wednesday, a key milestone for educators who have argued they deserve earlier access to shots because of the risks of working in classrooms full of students.The state’s decision came one day after President Joe Biden directed all states to prioritize school staff and child care workers in their vaccine rollout plans. Until Wednesday, Texas school employees could not get a vaccine unless they were 65 or older, had one of several chronic medical conditions or worked as a school nurse.State officials also confirmed Wednesday that public school districts can decide whether to continue requiring that students and staff wear masks while on district property, answering a question that arose after Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that he will end a statewide mask mandate next week.Many districts are expected to keep mask requirements intact for the rest of the school year, though some could buck that trend. The vast majority of local, state and federal officials recommend requiring masks in schools, arguing they reduce the spread of the coronavirus.The two decisions delivered relief to many of Texas’ 800,000-plus school employees, who have been back on campuses since the fall. TEA officials all but forced the state’s public school districts to offer in-person learning this school year, threatening to withhold funding from those that refused to reopen buildings.Rachel Clarke, a fourth grade bilingual teacher at Aldine ISD’s Orange Grove Elementary, said she could not sleep Tuesday night after Abbott’s announcement. The thought of students potentially coming into her classroom without masks next Wednesday and the fact that she did not yet qualify for the vaccine under Texas guidelines filled her with dread.That changed Wednesday, when a fellow teacher texted Clarke and some of her colleagues: “HHS has directed that all teachers should now be included in availability for vaccines.” Clarke, 44, began registering before she left work with every provider she could remember.“Now, I am more hopeful, and I will sleep well tonight,” Clarke said. “I know it’s still going to be a wait, but it won’t be as long.”Many questions remain about how the state’s moves over the past two days will play out, including how quickly teachers can access vaccines.In a speech Tuesday, President Joe Biden said his goal is to vaccinate all school employees and child care workers wanting a shot by the end of March and gather enough supply for all adults in America by the end of May. In addition to directing all states to prioritize school and child care staff in their vaccine rollout — about 30 of which already had — Biden announced he would use a federal pharmacy program to deliver shots to them.“Not every educator will be able to get their appointment in the first week, but our goal is to do everything we can to help every educator receive a shot this month,” Biden said.Clay Robison, a spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association, said it will take time for most Texas teachers to get vaccine appointments, making it too soon to rescind mask requirements.“It’s going to take some weeks, and perhaps the rest of semester, to get teachers and school employees vaccinated,” Robison said. “The governor acted prematurely. He acted on political instincts and listened to his advisers, but he went against the advice of health experts.”Imelda Garcia, the Department of State Health Services’ associate commissioner of laboratory and infectious disease services, said Wednesday that Texas has administered nearly 6 million doses, with 2.1 million Texans fully vaccinated. The state’s two available vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna each require two doses, though Texas started receiving a single-shot vaccine from Johnson &amp; Johnson this week.Among those who have been fully vaccinated is Michael Glazner, who teachers English III at Houston ISD’s César Chávez High School. He has Type 1 diabetes, allowing him to qualify under phase 1B of the state’s vaccination program. Still, he was anxious that his colleagues were continuing to report to classrooms without the protection the shots offer. He said he was thrilled when he found out they would become eligible on Wednesday, but said he and his fellow teachers should have been prioritized much sooner.“I can’t believe we had to wait this long to get it, especially because everyone insists schools must be opened,” Glazner said.Data compiled by the TEA shows Texas public school districts documenting about 119,000 student and 64,600 staff COVID-19 infections since September, though some districts have not reported complete totals over the past few months.The Houston Chronicle identified about 40 Texas school employees who died of COVID-19 in the first semester of the 2020-21 school year. The source of infection in those cases is not definitively known.For now, TEA officials said all school staff members and children older than 9 must wear masks while on school premises, with some limited exceptions, but each school board can vote to opt out of the requirements. Districts also can choose to mandate that children younger than 10 wear masks if it is “developmentally appropriate.”“Under this updated guidance, a public school system’s current practices on masks may continue unchanged,” TEA officials said in a statement. “Local school boards have full authority to determine their local mask policy.”Several Houston-area school districts, including Houston and Fort Bend ISDs, said this week that they plan to continue requiring masks for all students and staff, with limited exceptions. Many districts have not announced plans beyond next week as they awaited guidance, including Cy-Fair, Conroe and Pearland ISDs.None of the region’s largest districts have said they will forego mask requirements once Abbott’s statewide mandate expires. Humble ISD officials suggested in their back-to-school protocols that masks would not be required if Abbott rescinded his mandate, though district officials said Wednesday that they had not decided whether to follow through with those plans.“Superintendents are expecting to receive additional information and guidance from TEA on Thursday,” Humble administrators and school board members said in a joint statement. “District administrators will then utilize the next few days to consider all the information and discuss how any change in mask requirements after March 9 would affect student and staff experiences.”jacob.carpenter@chron.comshelby.webb@chron.com

All Texas school employees and child care workers now are eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of State Health Services Wednesday, a key milestone for educators who have argued they deserve earlier access to shots because of the risks of working in classrooms full of students.The state’s decision came one day after President Joe Biden directed all states to prioritize school staff and child care workers in their vaccine rollout plans. Until Wednesday, Texas school employees could not get a vaccine unless they were 65 or older, had one of several chronic medical conditions or...

All Texas school employees, childcare workers can now get COVID vaccine

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