COVID-19 vaccination of teachers and educational staff could start in two weeks

The vaccination of teachers and non-teaching staff of the Department of Education (DE) against COVID-19 could begin in the week of January 18, anticipates the Puerto Rico National Guard and the Department of Health.

This would take place at the beginning of subphase 1b, according to Assistant General José Reyes.

The logistics will consist of setting up seven vaccination centers, one in each educational region, where the agency’s medical staff will administer the vaccine. Reyes held a meeting today with Secretary-General Elba Aponte.

“The goal is to open the seven vaccination centers for education in the week of January 18, to administer the first and second dose on or before February 28.”, Reyes said in an interview with The new day.

The Assistant General reported that Education conducted a census among its teaching and non-teaching staff, which is about 40,000, of which about 36,000 said they were interested in receiving the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain that causes COVID -19.

Dr. Iris Cardona, in charge of the Puerto Rico Health Vaccination Operation, described the Education component as “particularly important in planning for a return to normalcy.”

Governor Pedro Pierluisi said yesterday that as soon as teachers and non-educational staff are vaccinated, the agency will be able to resume face-to-face courses.

“As soon as the teaching profession is vaccinated, we will be able to reopen schools gradually and partially. In the best cases, this should happen in early March. “, set up the first executive at a press conference in La Fortaleza.

Meanwhile, the department’s health care staff has already begun completing appropriate training to be certified as vaccine providers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Reyes said. It is about 900 health professionals who will be distributed in the seven centers.

Reyes said that on Thursday and Friday they will have meetings with organizations that group mayors, to determine how municipalities can support the operation, mainly by identifying facilities for the establishment of vaccination centers that will be dedicated exclusively to education staff. .

Aponte, in turn, said the agency will be ready to do its logistics. “We will prepare to have all the necessary criteria, but it will depend on the flow of vaccine arrivals. It is a chain, but this is our goal “, he underlined.

Logistics also includes vaccinating teaching and non-teaching staff in private schools in the country.

According to Reyes, the vaccination process for education staff will be at the beginning of subphase 1-b, scheduled for mid-January. This sub-phase includes front-line workers and adults aged 65 or over who do not live in congregated settings. The latter group is a population of about 400,000 people who could be vaccinated in about 150 community pharmacies with which the Department of Health has signed agreements, as well as in other facilities such as Diagnostic and Treatment Centers, primary medical groups and Primary Health Centers or Centers 330.