Jerry Roberts
By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
Union leaders representing 1500 Santa Barbara Unified School District teachers and staff workers asked county public health officials Wednesday to modify the Covid-19 vaccine rollout to prioritize their members who have been ordered back to classrooms on Feb. 26
“We urge Santa Barbara County decision-makers to prioritize, with immediacy, the offering of vaccines to school personnel,” Karen McBride, president of the Santa Barbara Teachers Association, and Paul Rooney, president of the California School Employees Association Local 37, said in a letter to top officials of the Public Health Department.
“It seems that with a well-coordinated plan, within two or three days, SBUSD school staff could receive vaccines,” said the letter, the text of which is below.
The call for vaccines for teachers is a local expression of what has become a nationwide push for school personnel to be moved to the head of the line, as parents and communities increasingly demand that classrooms reopen, not only because of the academic learning loss associated with distance learning, but also because of mental health and behavioral issues associated with kids being confined at home for nearly a year as the pandemic spread.
Although the Centers for Disease Control has said teacher vaccinations are not a prerequisite for a return to classrooms, President Joe Biden on Tuesday night became the latest official to call for educators to be a priority.
Nationwide, a new Morning Consult poll reported that 55 percent of voters say teachers should be inoculated before schools reopen; by a huge 76-to-18 percent margin, a Quinnipiac University survey shows, Americans in all states say teachers should be given priority in receiving vaccines.
Responding to the letter, a statement from the SB Public Health Department called, “the limited supply of vaccines…an immediate barrier to the vaccination of educators” and indicated there would be no change in its current distribution protocol. The department’s complete statement is below.
Vaccinating educators will be a significant step to protect students and staff and we welcome the opportunity to do so. It is frustrating that the limited supply of vaccines are an immediate barrier to the vaccination of educators. As a county, we are vaccinating target groups following the guidance of the California Department of Public Health and the recommendations of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.
In an interview, McBride noted that the district has ordered hundreds of elementary school teachers and staffers back to work at the end of the month, when some 3,500 K-6 students are to return to classrooms several days a week as part of a hybrid learning program. The district is awaiting final approval from the state for its planned Feb. 26 return.
“If you’re going to mandate them to return, make the vaccine available to those you are mandating,” she said.
The letter, addressed to Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso and Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg, noted that local officials in Long Beach in January adjusted their vaccine priority list to provide shots for teachers there, and that SBUSD officials have offered to provide locations and logistical assistance for such a program here.
“We have seen examples of cities like ours that have effectively prioritized school staff for vaccinations,” the letter said. “Protecting this essential group of adults would profoundly affect tens of thousands of citizens in our community who are connected to public schools.”
In the interview, McBride cited a survey of parents that she said showed 23 percent of those eligible to send their kids back to school plan to keep them on the full-time distance learning program, a number she said would likely diminish if families felt safer because of teacher vaccinations.
McBride also said that a survey of her members showed that 77 percent were “uncomfortable or very uncomfortable” with returning to class because of fears they would contract the virus.
You can watch our interview with Karen McBride via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
Here is the statement in response from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.
Vaccinating educators will be a significant step to protect students and staff and we welcome the opportunity to do so. It is frustrating that the limited supply of vaccines are an immediate barrier to the vaccination of educators. As a county, we are vaccinating target groups following the guidance of the California Department of Public Health and the recommendations of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.
In the past year, we have learned what activities are effective at limiting transmission of the virus and providing a safe educational environment. Young students, especially those under the age of about 12, have much lower levels of transmission and severe illness. The protective measures of face coverings, physical distance, handwashing, ventilation, and contact tracing have been exceptionally effective. Since last September, we have had 32 schools return to in-person instruction under elementary waivers and there are also some secondary schools that also opened in Santa Barbara County when we were in the Red Tier. The number of COVID-19 cases in these schools is low and the majority of cases have been among adult staff who bring the virus from the community to the school setting.
We will continue the high prioritization of educators for vaccination. We are hopeful that a new vaccine will be approved by the FDA soon and that increasing numbers of doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be shipped to our community. We are committed to distributing the vaccine doses broadly and opening up vaccinations for educators as soon as the vaccine supply allows.
What a slap in the face to those who have been out working this entire time. A teacher who sits at home on zoom should be vaccinated before people who have been out working everyday since last March? What an embarrassment. Part of me hopes schools can’t pull it together to open and the system collapses under its own weight. Rebuilding California’s public education system from scratch seems less complicated than trying to reinstate the system in place prior to covid.
Just what we need. Sending our tax money to religious and right-wing whacko sponsored schools to indoctrinate children with hate and disdain for science.
Sac, well giving them more money hasn’t helped open schools nor has it improved testing scores over the years. If a private school is struggling, or not achieving adequate testing scores, parents are free to take their children elsewhere. Shouldn’t public school families get the same choice rather than be forced to attend underperforming schools (that aren’t even open!)? The whole point of funding public schools is to educate children, that is the goal. Creating a public funded institution for adults to work and get a nice retirement isn’t the goal. I think you’ll like school choice, read up a little on it and we can chat later.
To the anonymous poster at 4:08. Wow, just wow. And you can’t help yourself but to demean and call people names yet others are the whacko? I’m surprised Edhat allows you to keep posting.
This is at minimum ‘bad optics’ for teachers and their unions. It can only promote school-of-choice, which I suspect more parents are supporting now. Private and Charter schools are flourishing in this environment, and will continue to do unless throttled by politicians, which the unions will promote. Most people aren’t rabid about general government functions, but the education of their children is a visceral issue. Screw this up and even Democratic electees could find themselves out of a job.
Karen McBride and the rest of these “union” leaders should be ashamed! Purposely not wanting to be considered essential for the last 10 months until now! Now they want to be prioritized. Get back to the classroom…stop your whining and do your jobs. Sympathy from the public is running out. Jump the line…get your damn vaccines with the understanding you go back to teaching kids in the classroom. No other professional group has whimpered and whined as much as the teachers! Enough.
According to their logic, we should have had grocery store workers prioritized for vaccines well ahead of teachers. I think the response from the SBCPHD was very well written and spot on. “The number of COVID-19 cases in these schools is low and the majority of cases have been among adult staff who bring the virus from the community to the school setting.”
Here we go again. Teachers feel like they are more special than the rest of society. CDC says go back to school, Department of Public Health says go back to school, Pediatricians say go go back to school. Daycares, private schools and charters are open. But the Public School Teachers are in some way the only ones complaining. We’re so sick of this.
What about the kids? Why do the teachers insist on full vaccination for themselves, but not for the kids?
“Teachers feel like they are more special”
I just told a teacher friend about your comment and she asked what year did he become radicalized?
bosco..I hope you are front of the line offering to help teach when the schools open up. The district has been hiring…multiple positions and no need to worry about catching the virus…right. Thank you so much for stepping into the classrooms.
Probably the same number of dead and injured long-term grocery store workers, agriculture workers, food processors, distributions center workers, and other groups that are critical to getting food from the field to our fridge. And regarding that article, did you even read it? Those weren’t covid deaths (the article you posted references an article about the Alabama teachers, that’s journalism these days SMH). I also prefer this quote from the article: “On Wednesday, the local American Academy of Pediatrics chapter countered that schools should reopen immediately because the social isolation, anxiety and lack of structure are “causing undue harm” to children.” I highly value our communities teachers, but I value our communities children more.
So, what happens if the County does not immediately prioritize teachers, as their response seems to suggest? Was the letter from the union just a hopeful attempt to get vaxxed, or was it a veiled threat to not return to school once we’re allowed to? I have a feeling the union won’t back down so easily.
PITMIX – the virus spread is NOT still high. We’ve dropped significantly over the past couple weeks down to 27 cases per 100K as of today. We’ve had less than 100 new cases per day for the past couple days. It’s slowing down. How much longer do you want our kids to wait?
Good to hear Sac. It wouldn’t have been easy to implement but focusing on people who live in multi-generational housing and/or multiple families, worker bunk type housing (i.e. most of the ag workers) versus 65+ year olds that are able to self-isolate would get us to our goal of reducing the spread much faster.
The demand of 0 is obviously insane…there will never be a guarantee of zero. All the science points to schools needing to open ASAP…your position (keep closed seemingly in perpetuity) is the obvious worse and more dangerous position. So how many more people are you willing to let get sick because school ISN’T in session Pit????
HZ – I’ve volunteered in my kids classes…but obviously when they reopen they wont be allowing any non student or staff on campus for awhile. But what is your point? Pretty much everyone else is at work and as such “at risk”…why are teachers the only ones that can hold out forever? The science has shown it’s less safe to keep schools closed…to go along with spectacularly detrimental to the kids and society at large. Follow the science and open the schools up ASAP!
HZ – how long do you want to keep our kids out of their classrooms?
The first post, Voice of Reason nailed it!
Good job SBPHD going toe to toe with these thugs. This is so pathetic and shameful that the schools in the Santa Barbara Public School District have been and continue to be used as political pawns.
Remember vote out every incumbent at the next School Board Election.
The SBPHD pointed out there were 32 schools that opened in the fall . They never closed .
Because of their Political Priorities, families and many students have suffered and are in a terrible possition with delayed learning , developmental and mental problems not to mention finacial impacts particularly with the most vounerable populations because this School Board and Superintendent chose not open in the fall along with all the other 32 schools in the area.
“The number of COVID-19 cases in these schools is low and the majority of cases have been among adult staff who bring the virus from the community to the school setting.”
The excuse of teachers being underpaid & unappreciated is the same rhetoric used for frontline e workers like police and firefighters.
But they still showed up for work.
Look, EVERYONE knows that these are not high paying jobs. So don’t become a teacher or firefighter. Snd if you do, don’t complaint the pay sucks, you knew that before you took your first job.
If teachers union says teachers are essential frontline workers, why have they not demonstrated that. 31 other schools in SB demonstrated that they are true frontline workers.
CDC says vaccinations are not necessary. But the teachers unions knows better than the CDC & WHO.
If any teachers are to be vaccinated it should be those that have been showing g up to work with kids.
It will be interesting to learn what the ransom (“hefty financial incentive”) payment to the teachers (and their union) will end up being. Refusing to acknowledge science and restart is quite unsurprisingly paying off for them…they are jumping the vaccine line and being paid extra. Great to hear that my 70 year old co-worker who’s been at work every day with me is now behind my kids 28 year old teacher!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/19/world/covid-19-coronavirus.amp.html
“ The governor, who faces a recall effort over the state’s lockdowns, was also responding to fellow Democrats who control the Legislature and who on Thursday introduced a fast-track bill to reopen schools by April 15, using prioritized vaccines for teachers and hefty financial incentives.”
Starting March 1 Newsom is reserving 10% of vaccines for teachers —
Seems the comorbidity patients and grocery store workers have lost out to the $1,3M Teachers union donation to his campaign.
Considering the governor handed them a blank check and committed to getting teachers (young and old) the vaccine before people more needy and at risk… a small donation and the their pledge of support is the LEAST they could do.
It won’t happen, but it sure would be nice if more people recognized this and started to see the teachers union endorsement as a signal to vote for ANYONE ELSE!!!
the teachers and their very powerful union have blood on their hands shame on them – what an utter disgrace – millions of children are being affected in multiple ways. – what a total joke , covid is nothing more than a political weapon –