Teachers, school staff should be among first vaccinated, says Fort Bend Co. Judge
RICHMOND, Texas - The first shipment of vaccines arrived in the Houston area on Monday at MD Anderson.
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Governor Greg Abbott has already laid out a plan for who will be the first to receive the vaccines in Texas, but Fort Bend County Judge KP George is asking for another group to be among the first.
Judge George sent a letter to Gov. Abbott asking him to consider "teachers and school faculty members as part of the frontline tiers."
Right now, health care personnel and frontline workers will be among the first to receive the vaccine. They include staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities, emergency medical services, and home health care workers.
They will administer these immunizations based on the Vaccine Distribution Principles developed by the state's Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.
The EVAP will continue to make recommendations on how and when to roll out the vaccine to other critical groups, but at the moment, school staff don't appear to be included.
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In his letter, Judge George cited the fact that more students will be heading back to in-person learning, which increases the chances for younger, asymptomatic individuals to spread the virus.
"Older age and pre-existing health conditions can leave teachers and other school staff in danger of facing a more adverse experience from COVID-19," wrote the judge. "Our teachers and school teams are invaluable community members."