Edison Councilman, School Board Urge State To Vaccinate Teachers

EDISON, NJ — Edison councilman Joe Coyle along with Board of Education members and school superintendent Bernard Bragen, urged state officials to move teachers and school staff higher on COVID-19 vaccine priority list.

At a press conference held Tuesday, Coyle said his office has been receiving complaints from residents on equal distribution of the vaccine.

“I’m calling out to Washington, to Trenton and to Middlesex County that we get equal distribution of this vaccine,” said Coyle.

He said teachers need to be brought to the front of the line to receive the vaccine.

“Everyone knows that the school system has been upside down since this (pandemic) started. It’s important we start to plan and have a schedule,” he said.

Edison Public Schools is one of the few districts in the state that has postponed reopening in-person learning a number of times due to high COVID-19 transmission rate in the township.

Currently, the school district is on virtual learning and is expected to open for in-person classes in the hybrid model on March 1.

Present at the press conference were board members Virginia White, Jerry Shi, Mohin Patel, Biral Patel and Deputy Chief Andrew Toth from the township’s Office of Emergency Management.

Bragen said there were about 6.5 million people who work in K-12 schools across the county who need to be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I also want to mention that that (vaccine) should not be an impediment to coming back. Our schools are safe. We have practices and protocols in place,” said Bragen.

“However, having that vaccine add that extra layer of comfort.”

White said that educators have a huge impact on the community, and it’s time to take that into account when determining the COVID-19 vaccine priority list.

“It is our hope that by working in unison, local and state governments can implement a plan with scheduled timelines to achieve that goal,” she said.

Board president Shi said that the school board will work with elected town officials to ensure the district gets vaccines for teachers and staff.

“Our schools are ready. Once we have the vaccines, we have the nurses to administer them. We are ready to go,” he said.

Deputy Chief Andrew Toth from the township’s Office of Emergency Management said he worked closely with Bragen from the beginning of the pandemic to collect PPE for first responders.

“I have the refrigerators and freezers for the vaccines. Dr. Bragen reached out and gave me locations. We have plans in place. The only thing we are missing is the vaccines,” he said.

“We are not holding back on anything. We want to get this for the teachers and anybody that wants them.”

Meanwhile, board member Biral Patel said he asked councilmembers to provide transportation for seniors to travel to the vaccine sites and help them register for it.

In doing that, when vaccines are available to the township it can be used to inoculate teachers and school staff.

“Edison is the fifth largest town in the state. And we should be treated like the fifth largest town in the state,” said Coyle.

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