(WKBN) – Pennsylvania officials outlined the state’s plan to provide teachers, school staff members and childcare workers with the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
“The approval of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine provides a great opportunity to launch this special initiative to vaccinate all teachers, child care workers and school staff without interrupting the flow of vaccine local providers have already administered to more than 1.8 million Pennsylvanians,” said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam.
Pre-K to 12 public and non-public school staff across Pennsylvania will be provided an opportunity to be vaccinated.
The following individuals will be given the first opportunity to register:
- Pre-K-12 teachers of students with disabilities and English learners and related in-classroom support staff;
- Elementary teachers and related in-classroom support staff, beginning with the youngest students;
- Bus drivers/transporters, and support staff and contracted service providers who have direct contact with elementary students; and
- Other priority school staff who have regular, sustained in-person contact with students during the school day.
Pennsylvania expects to receive an initial allocation of 94,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine this week. Those will be distributed to schools across the state.
Child care workers will be contacted by a Retail Pharmacy Program partners — Rite Aid, Topco or Walmart — to schedule vaccinations using the additional, separate allocations of Johnson & Johnson vaccine they will receive from the federal government.
There will be at least one vaccination site per region. School staff will be directed to the vaccination site in the region within which their school is located.
Vaccination sites are expected to begin operations between March 10 and 13 with daily operational hours.