School teachers of all ages can now get COVID-19 vaccines at Florida’s FEMA sites and some retail pharmacies, but some educators say they’re being left out.
CVS started booking appointments for childcare workers and K-12 school employees Wednesday, followed by Walmart. Publix opens their booking site Friday morning.
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Candi Churchill is the Executive Director of the United Faculty of Florida. It’s a union representing 20,000 teachers and staff at colleges and universities around the state.
Churchill wonders when these workers will get their turn to get the shot.
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“I’m honored to work with college students, but in general, they’re still gathering in large groups, there’s not as much mask wearing, and there’s a faster spread,” Churchill says. “So it’s important to the whole community to get this vaccine in the hands of higher education workers.”
According to analysis by a local epidemiologist, there was an average of approximately 600 cases in college-aged people in the last week, significantly more than the daily average in younger age groups.
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Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t outlined any plans to expand vaccinations to teachers and staff at colleges and universities.
For now, only the FEMA and pharmacy sites are vaccinating teachers of all ages.
Sites run by the county or state will continue to only vaccinate childcare and K-12 staff who are 50 years of age or older. They must provide proof of employment.