Manchester Schools Staff Begins Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township School District staff began getting their first round of the COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday, thanks to cooperative efforts between the district and the Ocean County Health Department.

A vaccination clinic at Manchester Township Elementary School — which will be repeated in the coming weeks — helped about 200 district staff members get their first round of the vaccine to protect them against infection from the virus that causes COVID-19.

The Manchester Township Education Association, which represents teaching staff in the district, called it "a momentous day."

"Our members were able to get vaccinated in district thanks to the Ocean County Health Department, the superintendent and leadership team, and a corps of MTEA volunteers," the teachers union post on Facebook said. "For most, this was the first time in well over a year that members and other employees from throughout the district were able to see each other in person and it was emotional, hopeful and promising for the days to come."

The vaccination clinic will be continuing on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings for the next couple months, while all staff members who want the vaccine get it, the union said.

"We look forward to meeting the community and assisting our large senior citizen population in Manchester as they are finally able to get vaccinated and take take a step towards normalcy," the union said.

The Manchester Township Schools are holding in-person instruction four days a week and district officials are hoping to move to five half-days in person in the coming weeks, as schools move toward restoring more normal instruction for students.

Gov. Phil Murphy said this week that he wants all New Jersey schools to return to fully in-person instruction in the fall for the 2021-22 school year.

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