JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Essential workers, such as police, firefighters and teachers, will be among those next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine.
That’s the recommendation from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel.
“I’m definitely grateful for even being offered to have it sooner,” said Shannon Russell-Hinds, a teacher at Sandalwood High School.
She said she plans to get the vaccine when it is available. It’s why she appreciates the idea of potentially getting the vaccine as early as February.
“Anytime anything is available that’s going to improve the chances of my health, I’m all for it,” she said.
Last week, the Florida Education Association wrote a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Coronavirus: Inseparable Jacksonville mother-daughter teaching duo die days apart from COVID-19
In it, the group asks him to prioritize education employees in the state vaccination plan.
It reads in part, “Since the first emergency order on reopening schools, quarantines and isolations have wreaked havoc on school, college and university schedules across the state.”
“This just shouldn’t be something that the FEA should have to ask for,” said Russell-Hinds.
Russell-Hinds believes another measure that can help keep teachers safe is giving them options to work from home so that they can minimize their risk of exposure.
“If you could make sure that people work and learn from home, if you could do that like we had asked all summer, think of how many other people we could get that vaccination out to,” said Russell-Hinds.
COVID-19 Vaccine: Here’s what we know about Florida’s plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines