Teacher Vaccination Begins; Anne Arundel Preps For Hybrid Classes

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County will start vaccinating its teachers and school staff this week. County Executive Steuart Pittman announced the advancement Tuesday in a virtual press conference.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department will vaccinate public school educators at Severna Park High School. The first clinic is slated for Thursday. Interested employees should fill out the school system's immunization interest form.

Private school employees and child care workers can get the inoculation through the Anne Arundel County Department of Health. These locals can preregister for the shot at aacounty.org/covidvax.

Limited Supply

"For our teachers, we need to get you vaccinated more quickly," Pittman said. "I am very acutely aware of that. We have these conversations on a regular basis"

The supply is still limited, however. The county's 3,400 doses this week are a fraction of the 7,500 that it requested from the state.

Anne Arundel still prioritizes residents 75 and up. These locals will get 1,500 vaccines this week.

Schools will also collect 1,500 doses. One thousand will go to public school staff. The other 500 are reserved for private school and child care professionals.

That still leaves 400 inoculations up for grabs. The county did not mention who will get these shots.

"We are hustling to get all the vaccines we can," Pittman said. "[We are trying to] get them to teachers while continuing to realize that our seniors 75 and over also have great needs."

There are five phases of vaccination: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2 and 3. The Anne Arundel County Department of Health entered phase 1B on Jan. 18. Residents over 75 and teachers are eligible in this period, but this is the first time educators have been offered the shot at county-sponsored facilities.

Reopening Plans

This news comes weeks before Anne Arundel County Public Schools starts hybrid classes. Students who prefer the hybrid model will trickle into schools between Feb. 11 and March 22. To see the full list of start dates, check out Patch's timeline.

"This is a massive effort that takes an incredible amount of coordination," AACPS Superintendent George Aroltto said of the vaccination and reopening process.

The Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County questioned Arlotto's plan. It claimed that the school system "recklessly" reopened without strong safety guidelines.

"Stop the constant lip service in your rush to reopen," the union told Arlotto last week. "Present the public and your employees with a clear, concise, and equitable plan that incorporates safety guidelines, in writing. We deserve better from you."

Many educators are frustrated that they might not get the immunization before heading back to the classroom. Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman empathized with their concern.

He added, however, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not compel teacher inoculation before starting in-person classes. The CDC encourages vaccination, but it says masking, distancing and cleaning are the keys to reopening.

"Vaccines are one of those tools," Kalyanaraman said. "They are an important tool, but they are not the only tool to mitigate the spread."

To see when you'll be eligible for the coronavirus inoculation, read Patch's explainer. Check out our how-to guide to learn how to sign up for the shot. Catch up on the latest coronavirus infection and vaccination metrics in Anne Arundel County by heading to our latest numbers update.

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.