Teachers should be taken care of, but the over 65 crowd definitely is not according to the demographic of the queue waiting outside the mass clinic. We are a significant elderly population. Not as many kids compared to the average
CVS in MA had been releasing new appointment slots on Thursday morning, to match the state mass vax sites. Then last Thursday, they decided to switch it to Saturday, but did not announce that until later in the day on Thursday. The mass vax sites had been opening up appointments around 7AM, until last Thursday. I randomly hit refresh about 9:45 last Thursday and thousands of slots were available. Got my wife a slot.
Now, all slots are by luck. Got in just in time.
3 Likes
Funny. One of those is a vulnerable groupā¦the other is not.
Frankly, I think both groups are vulnerable for different reasons.
Most states are now including school personnel in their vaccine roll out. CT is, where I live.
4 Likes
It wasnāt a question. Vulnerable populations are based on definition and fact, not opinion. Best, current data shows that educators are at decreased risk of infection when working in-person, compared to their risk of infection in the community.
5 Likes
Please donāt get this thread shut down. Teachers are doing a tremendous job and I have no problem with them getting the vaccine early on.
PA is still well behind many of your states. Creekland posted a list of the populations in stage 1A. And they just added teachers - in my county, the allotment of J&J will be given to teachers and the rest of us still need to play vaccine roulette. I will not be eligible til the last group. I do have vaccine envy when I see friends in other states getting their shots since I probably wonāt be able to until May
5 Likes
I am grateful that the teachers in my state were prioritized so schools could open and teachers at risk due to age or other medical conditions could return to the classroom. Teachers have worked night and day in my area to meet the needs of the children they serve. They prepare, they teach, they deliver books and school supplies, and they even deliver food/groceries.
7 Likes
Sometimes we follow the science, sometimes we donāt.
3 Likes
Itās not just teachers in schools. Our school recently had to return to remote for cleaning due to an outbreak in the cafeteria. Cafeteria staff arenāt always young and fit (nor are teachers/janitors/admin/bus drivers/etc). This is not the first time we had to return to remote. As per our stateās guidance, once we hit X number of positive cases, we canāt meet in person.
Weāre short substitutes almost daily now and usually more than a couple subs. When teachers get exposed to folks who test positive, they have to stay home and isolate for 7-10 days. Not having subs means other teachers have to give up their prep time to cover for them as well as doing their own classes. One has to wonder just how terrific the education is during those times.
If folks want their kids back in school, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to put teachers and all school staff on a high priority list. I know once Iām fully vaccinated Iāll head back to school for a few days to help out. Fortunately, Iām qualified to actually teach math and most science classes in our high school. Before being vaccinated (both myself and FIL) we just couldnāt take the risk, so I took the year off.
Of course, now that Iāve had a year off weāre also toying with if I just want to retire, but thatās a different topic. I was just talking with a co-worker who told me everyone was looking forward to my return, so thatās a push to go back. I enjoy my co-workers.
12 Likes
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Iām signed up for VA healthcare, and the VA has dropped all restrictions when it comes to getting vaccinated. Iām under 65, retired, and have no preexisting health conditions. I wouldnāt be eligible for a vaccine yet under California and county guidelines, but I was able to go into the VA at the end of February to get my first shot.
7 Likes
I think thatās great!
To me, the unfortunate part is that you have to already be in the VA system. Itās not for all veterans, just those already served through the VA.
Make all of those who have served eligible! Itās not hard to do!
6 Likes
What gets me is that active duty military arenāt included anywhere either. My husband is going on 17 years of service and is a veteran of a foreign war. He isnāt edible for a vaccine through any system, and theyāre certainly not offering it at work. He will be the only person in our family not vaccinated by summer.
That is terrible! Absolutely awful. Protect those who serve.
I was under the impression that all active duty were one of the first vaccinated. Iām really sorry your husband isnāt.
The military only offered (afaik) vaccines to those deployed or on ships. My husband doesnāt know any Marines who have been vaccinated. There isnāt a military hospital in our state or the three surrounding states- if there were, I think he could get on a list at one of those. His boss and a few coworkers have had Covid, but heās lucked out so far.
According to COVID-19 Vaccines At VA | Veterans Affairs
When I went into the Air Force back in the late '70s, one of the promises they made was that all veterans would be able to get VA healthcare. The government broke that promise and implemented means testing for veterans. I was only able to get into the VA healthcare system because I retired and my yearly income dropped enough to qualify for medical care. I donāt use it very often, but itās nice to have it available.
4 Likes
This is what the San Francisco VA recently sent out in an email to enrolled veterans -
āAt SFVAHCS we have been fortunate to have both adequate vaccine supply and efficient operations to NOW be able to offer vaccines to ALL eligible VA-ENROLLED VETERAN patients at the San Francisco VA Medical Centerās Fort Miley campusā
2 Likes
Teachers and school staff have been eligible in my state for awhile. I am fully vaccinated as of last week. The Javits Center did a great job. In and out in 40 min.
It is impossible to do any type of quality teaching (elementary) from 6 feet away, fully masked, windows open with street noise etc. Yes young kids are in school, but the quality of what they have been getting leaves a lot to be desired. Itās exhausting, and we are doing the best we can. Thank goodness teachers and staff are now vaccinated, or are in the process.
Do you know what it means to be fully vaccinated? It means you can stand next to a student (at least for a short period of time) and help him with a math problem, or help him learn how to hold a pencil or use a scissor. Try doing that from 6 feet away- itās impossible.
It means I can sit in a room with unmasked kids who are eating snack, and not be scared.
It means I can finally do lunch duty and not feel as though I am going to contract Covid. We are full day with lunch, and up until last week I was not fully vaccinated.
It means I can finally begin to evaluate my students appropriately. That has not happened in a year.
If people want schools to be open and kids to be properly educated, then school staff needs to be vaccinated (and veterans should be vaccinated- sorry to read what was posted).
18 Likes
Judging by the freshly posted data, in about 3 days, my state administered - statewide! - about 80,000 doses of vaccine. Shamefully glacial pace, and it is being significantly outpaced by arrival of new vaccine shipments. 40.6% of all folks 65 and older have been fully vaccinated, which is about 1/2 of those 65+ who said they would take a Covid vaccine. Glad that at least there is some movement to open vaccinations to new groups, but for dogās sake, vaccines sitting in freezers do nothing to protect us from the virus.
10 Likes
I emailed my senator this morning (Gary Peters, member of the armed services committee) and asked him to open up vaccine eligibility to all active duty troops and all veterans.
I think this is the least we can do for those who serve/have served
16 Likes