FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida’s governor said he wants to prioritize teachers during the next round of COVID-19 vaccinations, but not all educators will be allowed to get inoculated.
Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes to begin vaccinating teachers between the ages of 50 and 64 next week, and the vaccinations will be held at a federal site at Miami-Dade College’s North Campus in Northwest Miami-Dade.
“I think there’s a lot to be thankful for, a lot to be excited about,” the governor said during a stop in Hialeah on Tuesday. “We want that to be open not just to seniors, but to sworn law enforcement and classroom teachers.”
Around 8,500 teachers in Miami-Dade County and around 5,600 teachers in Broward County qualify for the vaccine.
“We certainly hope that this prioritization continues to be extended not only to all teachers, as they are frontline and essential employees, but also all school employees who have direct contact with children and the public,” Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said there are between 600 and 700 teachers who continue to work from home in the district. He hopes the vaccine will help them return to the classroom.
“This should go a long way to addressing a significant portion of that population who are still having concerns and unease about returning back,” he said.
“Just a sense of being vaccinated should give a lot more comfortability for the educators,” Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco said. “It will help with more people in the community to have the vaccine.”
Also, Runcie said graduations for the Class of 2021, scheduled for the spring, will be held in person.
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