Stanislaus County will provide coronavirus vaccinations to teachers and ag workers
Teachers, other school employees and food and agricultural workers in Stanislaus County will start rolling up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations the week of Feb. 22, top county officials said Friday.
The word from county Chief Executive Officer Jody Hayes and health officer Dr. Julie Vaishampayan ended speculation about whether teachers and campus employees will have access to coronavirus vaccine as school districts move toward a return to in-person learning in grades 7 through 12 and bring more elementary students back to campuses, possibly in March.
The county officials said it will be a slow rollout and there’s no guarantee all school employees — an estimated 17,400 — will be vaccinated before the students return to safely designed classrooms. To pull that off, the state will need to allocate larger amounts of vaccine to the county, the officials said in an interview.
The county will start by giving priority to school employees and other eligible workers who are age 50 to 65. The expansion into the Phase 1B, Tier 1 priority groups also extends eligibility for COVID vaccine to daycare workers and some emergency services employees who don’t have contact with patients.
The county has an estimate of 34,300 food and agricultural workers, many of whom start to work in seasonal operations in April and earn their pay until the fall months.
Some larger schools districts will likely use health staff to vaccinate their own employees. Some of the education employees will receive vaccinations at the county clinics in Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and Patterson.
Officials said the county can assist larger food companies with giving the shots to their employees before operations begin in the spring. The county also will use its clinics and special efforts to deliver vaccinations to food and ag workers who want the protection against COVID-19 illness.
Vito Chiesa, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said the largest outbreaks locally have occurred in food and meat processing and agricultural warehousing, so the county needs to prioritize that workforce.
Details of the new rollout are being worked out. The county expects to have more information next week.
Hayes said the broader eligibility will further divide up the limited amount of vaccine the county is getting from the state. People lining up for the two-dose vaccines at county clinics include remaining health care workers in Phase 1A and residents age 65 and older, who remain eligible.
“We are not getting any additional vaccine by doing this,” Hayes said. The county’s allocation from the state was 5,850 doses this week, an increase of 300 over the previous week.
“The state has told the counties to move on to the next eligibility groups but has not changed their allocations,” Hayes said.
Modesto City Schools said last week it had worked with county public health on a vaccination pod for inoculating employees, but it was put on hold by the scarcity of vaccine. Sylvan Union School District had discussed a campus pod with the county for administering doses to staff from Sylvan, Stanislaus Union, Salida and other districts.
A state decision in December to give state residents age 65 or older a priority for COVID vaccine seemed to delay plans for vaccinating school staff, district officials said.
Getting more vaccine is essential
The eligibility for teachers will offer vaccine to staff in elementary schools that returned to in-class learning in the fall and also removes a potential obstacle to reopening middle schools and high schools. The available Pfizer and Moderna vaccines consist of two doses given three to four weeks apart.
“It is important for that option to be available,” said Chad Brown, a board member for Modesto City Schools, which has 3,200 employees. ”Our district is looking to provide that to not only teachers but support staff as well. I know the public is voicing their comments clearly that they want the students back in school.”
Doug Burton, president of the Modesto Teachers Association, said in an email the union is glad teachers are being prioritized.
“We think that this will help make schools safer for everyone,” Burton said. “It is a bit disappointing that there isn’t enough vaccine for all educational employees at this time. Truthfully, the more people in the community that are able to be vaccinated, the better off everyone will be.”
Hayes said the county has urged the state to allocate substantially more COVID vaccine to Stanislaus, citing figures that Central Valley counties are getting far less per capita than affluent counties in the coastal region.
According to the state, the Central Valley has received less vaccine because initial allocations were for hospital staff and healthcare workers in Phase 1A and metropolitan counties have more hospitals and medical facilities. The San Joaquin Valley has a smaller healthcare workforce.
In a briefing Friday, officials with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration said the eligibility for sectors such as education and food and agriculture should have a positive effect on allocations for the more rural counties.
Chiesa, the county board chairman, said agriculture and food processing workers, along with teachers, are part of the fabric of the community and should be protected equally.
“We should get (a larger share) of vaccine from the state if it’s based on education and agricultural workers,” Chiesa said. “The valley counties should be big winners, but it remains to be seen.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
