Last Updated on February 19, 2021 6:04 pm
The Watauga County School system announced on Friday that all WCS employees will be able to get the first Moderna vaccine shot next week.
More than 600 people had signed up and that represents around 93% of the staff, Garrett Price with Watauga County Schools tells WataugaOnline.com.
WataugaOnline.com also reached out to Dr. Scott Elliott, Superintendent of Watauga County Schools. His full reply via email is below:
“We have been planning since early January for the possibility of providing vaccines for our teachers. I sent out a sign up sheet and immediately received about 600 responses. We have approximately 700 employees. Some of our employees have already been able to get their vaccines (nurses and some of our older employees) while some other employees are still undergoing treatment for a recent COVID diagnosis and need to wait a little longer before receiving the vaccine. I anticipate that a high percentage of our classroom teachers plan to get the vaccine.
With the supply of vaccines being very limited recently, we were anticipating having to prioritize our staff and spread out the vaccines over several weeks. I prepared our list and was ready to send as many staff members as we could get in. This week we were surprised and elated to find that our county is receiving double the amount of our normal allocation, plus a large shipment of doses for a special event, which means that health officials will be able to provide a shot to all our employees who want it.
The first round of shots will be given on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the new Watauga County Recreation Center on State Farm Road. Most or all of the appointments will be in the afternoon. Parents and teachers should also mark their calendars for Friday, March 26 for when educators will receive the required second dose. I will determine closer to that date if this will be a in person day, remote learning day, workday, etc.
We have worked hard to protect the health and safety of our teachers. This is a huge step forward in making it safer for both teachers and students to bring more of our students back for in person instruction.”
