Round Rock ISD Seeks Priority Coronavirus Vaccines For Teachers

ROUND ROCK, TX —Round Rock ISD officials has joined other school districts across Texas asking the governor to include school personnel as frontline workers getting priority in getting vaccinated for the coronavirus, officials said.

Acting Superintendent Dr. Daniel Presley and Board of Trustees President Amy Weir joined its counterparts statewide along with organizations such as the Texas Association of School Administrators, the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas School Alliance in a letter sent to Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, officials said.

The letter reads:

"As leaders of the Round Rock Independent School District, we are greatly appreciative of your commitment to protect Texans during the COVID-19 pandemic and for your concern for the educational, social and emotional well-being of the more than five million students enrolled in Texas public schools, including the more than 50,000 students and 7,000 employees of Round Rock ISD.

"As we watch with great hope and anticipation the distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccines, we are respectfully requesting that Texas teachers and school personnel be considered as a priority group in the vaccination process. The front line medical workers and older Texans in residential facilities certainly are the first priority, but if doses are available for Texas teachers in the initial group or in the second phase it would be a great asset in keeping the teachers in Texas schools actively engaged in teaching for the coming months.

"We appreciate your efforts and the work of your task force and medical advisors. We are committed to continue working diligently to provide quality instruction for students in this difficult time. Thank you again for your leadership in this unprecedented health crisis."

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Initial shipments of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine were delivered to Texas on Monday, with four sites receiving 19,500 doses and an additional 19 sites getting 75,075 doses on Tuesday. In all, Texas was allocated 224,250 doses of vaccine to be shipped to 110 providers across the state in Week 1 of distribution as health officials explained.

The focus is on facilities that indicated they will vaccinate at least 975 front-line health care workers since that is the minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine, state health officials said. Adding the Moderna vaccine next week — available in batches of 100 doses — will result in more vaccine being available for many more providers across the state, according to health officials.