Ventura County begins vaccination rollout for teachers
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Ventura County Public Health officially kicked-off its vaccinations rollout for teachers Monday. The County’s goal is to have all teaches vaccinated by the end of the month.
Hundreds of teachers and school staffers made their way to the Ventura County Office of Education in Camarillo to get their vaccine.
“This is the first step of getting our kids back, so let’s do it,” said Greg Berini, who is an 8th grade teacher at Blackstock junior high school in Port Hueneme.
Berini was one of many teachers excited to get this added level of protection.
“I am just really thankful,” said Berini. “I heard all these vaccine appointments stories and the stress involved with it. The fact that they are prioritizing us is exciting to see a room full of teachers getting ready to bring our kids back.”
Right now people 65 and older, health care workers and essential workers are eligible for the vaccine, but the county is trying to prioritize teachers.
“The majority of appointments at this particular center have been prioritized for education staff for multiple districts in order to accelerate the vaccine rollout for educators,” said Dr. Cesar Morales, who is the Deputy Superintendent for the Ventura County Office of Education.
Six school districts were scheduled to be vaccinated on Monday, followed by six more Tuesday, and so on for the next couple of weeks.
“I was really excited to do it finally,” said Cady Evans, who is a 1st grade teacher at Fred Williams elementary in Port Hueneme. “It’s been a long time coming. Teachers feel better, and feel a little more protected about being back in the classroom with the vaccinations.”
The goal is to have 3,000 educators vaccinated by the end of the week.
“We have an accelerated plan that will achieve vaccination for all for all of the education employees during the month of March,” said Morales.
It comes as the county announced the covid case rate dropped to 10.5 per 100,000. If that number falls to 7 for two straight weeks the county can head into the less restrictive red tier, and middle and high school campuses can reopen.
“Their teachers miss them and love them, and we miss their energy in class so the sooner the better,” said Berini.
