COVID-19 vaccine has arrived for school employees 65 and older in Manatee County

Monday marks the first day of February and the start of a new school week. But for hundreds of employees in the School District of Manatee County, it will mean so much more.

In the days leading up to the weekend, district leaders sent a message to approximately 300 employees age 65 and older: COVID-19 vaccinations will be available at two campuses on Monday and Tuesday.

“The vaccine given will be the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which requires two doses 28 days apart,” the message continues. “Information on scheduling an appointment for the second vaccination will be provided at a later date via email.”

Through a partnership between MCR Health, the school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, any eligible employee can sign up for a vaccine.

Those employees will receive a vaccine at either Southeast High School or Manatee Elementary School. MCR Health operates a clinic at each campus.

Until the recent announcement, school district employees had to sign up for the county’s standby pool and hope for the best. That list included more than 100,000 people as of Friday.

It was fortunate that employees 65 and older could now receive the vaccine, especially as more students return to campus and social distancing becomes harder, said Pat Barber, president of the local teachers union.

But until all school employees are given priority in Florida’s vaccine roll-out, thousands of educators and other school employees would remain on edge, she said.

“We have many employees working in our schools who fall in the high-risk category and are not over 65,” Barber said. “We’re anxious to get all of our people who wish to be vaccinated, vaccinated.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.