No plan in place yet to get Dallas ISD teachers, staff vaccinated

While districts like Fort Worth ISD and Arlington ISD have announced plans to begin vaccinating teachers, Dallas ISD doesn't have an agreement like that yet.

And Dallas County says it doesn't have enough doses.

But the FEMA sites do have some doses, and teachers and childcare workers who live in certain zip codes may get called for a shot in the next couple of days.

Dallas County announced plans to start vaccinating teachers, school staff and childcare workers at FEMA’s vaccination hub in Fair Park.

The county itself is not offering its vaccines, and therefore not all educators in Dallas County qualify. They must live in one of the 17 zip codes labeled a priority by the federal government.

"If you are involved in education and you live in those zip codes, you should sign up and you should be able to get a shot very quickly," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

About 1,400 who live in the priority zip codes were already on the county’s waiting list. Those people should start getting appointment invites starting Friday.

Judge Jenkins hopes the state will increase the county’s vaccine allotment and provide direction on how much vaccine can be administered to educators.

"We can only give people shots if we have the shots," he said. "If they give us the shots and refuse to answer what they want us to do with them, then we will come up with a plan to get shots in the arms of vulnerable people on our list."

Meanwhile, both Arlington ISD and Fort Worth ISD have plans to start vaccinating teachers as soon as next week.

Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos says Monday happens to be a professional development day, giving the district the perfect opportunity to try vaccinating all 8,500 district staff members and substitutes. So far, more than 3,000 have signed up.

Dr. Cavazos says the district started planning with the Arlington Fire Department before teachers were eligible. He says the fire chief assured him there’s enough supply.

"This is an important piece of the bigger puzzle in returning to some normalcy with school," he said.

Fort Worth ISD announced a partnership with Texas Health Resources to vaccinate district employees. Those employees received a link Thursday to register for an appointment.

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