Montgomery County educators receive the COVID-19 vaccine

The one year anniversary marking the initial closure of schools in response to the pandemic is fast approaching. The desire to return to in-person learning has stayed strong, as reflected through the nationwide endeavor to vaccinate teachers as quickly as possible.

The shortage of vaccine doses does not skip over Montgomery County: for the more than 1.5 million Marylanders eligible for a vaccine, the federal government is only able to provide 10,000 doses per day.

On Feb. 11, Superintendent Jack Smith and Board of Education (BOE) members submitted a letter to Hogan, calling for an “expedited dissemination of the Covid-19 vaccine to Montgomery County educators to improve the safety of schools and bring our county one step closer to normalcy.” Currently, vaccinations are not a prerequisite to return. Teachers at RM have the choice to get vaccinated or not.

 “The BOE is certainly committed to doing everything it can possibly do to get more doses for our staff, but of course we have to do that in partnership with the state and the county,” Supervisor of MCPS’ Department of Communications Gboyinde Onijala said.

“Staff members have started receiving direct links to schedule vaccines for [phase] 1b from places all over Montgomery County,” assistant principal Robin Wheeler said. “The vast majority of the people I know and have spoken to, including my friends who work within the county and teachers in my own building, have gotten vaccinated through their own means.”

Wheeler believes choosing to be vaccinated is a personal choice. “Getting vaccinated means you’re protecting yourself. I’ve now had my second vaccine, so two weeks from now I’m fully protected. But me being vaccinated doesn’t protect you,” Wheeler said.

Social worker Julie Oldham visits the homes of some of her students as part of her job. “Getting vaccinated made me comfortable with being able to go out into the community more and meet the needs of the students that I work with in a closer contact,” Oldham said.

Although Oldham is considered a health care worker and was eligible for a vaccine during phase 1a, she faced difficulty scheduling an appointment and had to wait until the 1B group was authorized.

Wheeler had a sore arm after the first dose, but encountered stronger symptoms after the second dose. “Symptoms are a good thing because it means your body is doing its job. It’s building its fort around the immune system,” Wheeler said.

Similarly, Oldham had a slight headache and a sore arm after the first dose, but felt very fatigued for a couple days and had a fever after the second dose.

“Everyone believes vaccinations are a very positive factor to ensure the safety of students and staff. The problem is that there is a shortage of doses, so if we can’t get our hands on doses, what else can we do as a school system, [and] what else can the Board do to ensure the safety of all those returning, including PPE, sanitation stations, addressing air filtration and HVAC systems?” Onijala said. “We want to get as many staff members vaccinated as soon as possible, but it’s not going to stop our plans to return.”