<strong>A</strong>t Edinburgh schools, students fill classrooms daily, but educators continue to wait for the day they can teach them without the risk of getting COVID-19.
Jennifer Garrett is one of those teachers. She braves the coronavirus Monday through Friday in her second-grade classroom at East Side Elementary School. She isn’t concerned about herself, though. Instead, she is worried about teachers who have pre-existing health conditions that could cause them serious medical complications if they contract the virus.
“I think it’s very concerning,” Garrett said. “The thing I hear teachers saying, not just in my building but on social media, is the government wants to push to get schools open. My school was open all along. But nationwide, if we want to push to get schools open, teachers are saying, ‘hey, vaccinate us.’”
All four states that border Indiana — Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio — are vaccinating teachers. In fact, 27 states are vaccinating teachers, and all but six have a timeline for when teachers will be vaccinated, according to Education Week.
Indiana does not.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December published guidelines regarding vaccine distribution that put teachers in the second phase of allocation after older adults, high-risk health workers and first responders, leading some teachers to believe they would be vaccinated sooner than most of the general population, Garrett said.
During his weekly news conference Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb said the state would continue to focus on ensuring older Hoosiers are protected from COVID-19, regardless of occupation. He did not specify when teachers younger than 65 years old could expect to be vaccinated.
“We’re looking at folks most at risk of dying and/or being hospitalized,” Holcomb said. “About 94% of our deaths come from 22% of cases — that being 60 and older. It’s about managing the spread but trying to really slow the deaths and hospitalization rate.”
Just because most teachers aren’t eligible to be vaccinated doesn’t mean they aren’t valued, Holcomb said.
“I disagree with the premise that I don’t value them. I have talked to teachers as well who appreciate that we are taking care of their grandmother or grandfather,” Holcomb said.
“They are OK with us focusing on those most at-risk. I value every single life in this state, regardless of your profession.”
The Indiana State Department of Health has been rolling out vaccines based on age. It started with Hoosiers in their 80s, then those in their 70s, and now those 65 and older are eligible. The age-based approach makes sense and is making a big difference for seniors, but teachers should also be a priority, said Betsy Swearingen, director of the Johnson County Health Department.
“I absolutely (think they should),” Swearingen said of teachers getting vaccinated. “I think that they are around our kids and in the public every day. I feel they are essential and they should be vaccinated.”
Teachers put themselves at risk of infection and should be protected with the vaccine, said Tony Harris, president of the Franklin Community Teachers’ Association.
“I think originally, the news we were hearing was good; we were going to be prioritized and be behind some of the first responders. I had some high hopes,” Harris said. “I really think teachers in general should be prioritized. The age thing is really important because (older people) are susceptible to being sick and possibly dying, but teachers put themselves in front of 20 to 30 kids daily. I just feel like we quickly forget how important it is for teachers to be safe in that realm.”
Even teachers who are senior citizens are having trouble getting vaccine appointments, said Allyson Sever, an eighth-grade science teacher at Franklin Community Middle School.
“I have teaching assistants in the age range who were really hoping they could get vaccinated before everyone else in the general population,” Sever said. “One of my teaching assistants was on hold for over three hours trying to get a time for the vaccine.”
