The teachers' associations for four school districts in Hamilton County areasking the state to prioritize educators for COVID-19 vaccines, and let them know the plan by the end of next month.
“With the urgency that this pandemic warrants, it is our formal request that educators and school staff are prioritized in COVID-19 vaccine distribution and that there are clearly communicated timelines on the distribution plan,” reads the letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Eric Holcomb and Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner. “We are requesting that this plan for all Indiana school staff vaccinations occur by the end of February.”
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The letter to Holcomb copied Box andis signed by the leaders of four teachers’ associationsat Noblesville, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield Washington schools on behalf of the roughly 2,700 educators they represent.All four associations are affiliates of the Indiana State Teachers Association, the largest teachers' union in the state.
After the unions sent their letter, Noblesville Schools sent a similar one to Holcomb on Thursday and HSE plans to also send a letter in support of prioritizing vaccines for educators.
In response to the associations' letter, the Indiana State Department of Health emphasized that vaccine supplies are limited and the state has prioritized saving lives, reducing hospitalizations and protecting vulnerable populations from the beginning.
“As Governor Holcomb and Dr. Box have said, the ability to expand vaccine eligible is limited by the lack of available vaccine,” said ISDH spokesperson Megan Wade-Taxter.She said additional groups will be added based on availability but did not say when that might be for teachers.
Holcomb's office didn't provide an additional response to the letter and pointed IndyStar to the response from ISDH.
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Asking for a plan by the end of February is a reasonable request, said Amanda Giordano, president of the Noblesville Teachers’ Forum.
The signees said they understand there are limitations on vaccines such as time toadminister anda finite number of doses.But they stressed that there are risks to thejobs of school employees that are higher than others, given the number of people they interact with daily.
The union leaders said that while safety adjustments such as hybrid schedules, mask wearing and cleaning protocols are helpful,having the vaccine would ease educators' worries about who might get sick.
The state could at least start with teachers who are at highestrisk such as those who are immunocompromised, saidJennifer Luce, president of the Hamilton Heights Classroom Teachers Association.
She added that shehopes Holcomb could put a planinaction as soon as possible so that teachers could have at least the first dose before spring break.
“The stress level of the teachers is just so high because you never know when,” Luce said. “When you get a phone call, you just get a sense of dread.”
Since the start of the school year, 24,210 students, 4,951teachers and 5,788 school staffers across Indiana have tested positive for COVID-19, per a state dashboard.
Change in plans
When the state first rolled out its vaccine plan, public health officials gave the impression that teachers would likely be in the second group of Hoosiers to have access to the vaccine after frontline health care workers and long-term care facility residents. That initial plan put those most likely to be exposed to the virus while doing essential work near the front of the line.
Yet, in early January, Holcomb and Box announced a new COVID-19 vaccine plan that prioritized the state’s oldest residents.
The new plan is currently open to Hoosiers 70 and older and first responders as well as health care workers and long-term care residents. The next group is those ages 65 to 69, and Holcomb said Wednesday to expect that group to be eligible in“days, not weeks.”
"We are taking an age-based approach to current expansion because age is the number one cause of hospitalizations and death due to COVID," Wade-Taxter said."Hoosiers age 70 and older account for 10.8% of the population, but 42% of our COVID-19 hospitalizations and 78% of the deaths in the state."
Still, not knowing when it will be their turnhas left educators disappointed and feeling undervalued, especially as there continues to be a push for in-person school, said Giordano and Allison Haley, vice president for secondary with the Noblesville Teachers' Forum.
“It was our understanding that educators, who are essential workers working with the public each day, were to be in line for the second round of vaccine distribution. It seems, however, that the distribution is not being expeditedin a way that provides a clear timeline for school staff vaccinations," the educators wrote in their letter.
Janet Chandler, president of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, said the letter to Holcomb comes from a place of disappointment, as they've been hearing for months that teachers would be prioritized and that this notion is supported on a local level.
Plus,Giordano and Haleypointed out, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge that essential workers, including teachers, get the vaccine before ages 65 to 75.
Teachers were "taken by surprise" that the plan changed with "no warning and no heads up," Chandler said.
With that change, theunion leaders wrote that they “have had an overwhelming number of educators reach out to inquire when they will have access to the COVID-19 vaccination.”
Getting the vaccine would provide piece of mind, Luce said, adding that teachers can’t teach the way they want and need to if they are constantly in fear of the virus.
“There is still that constant worry (about getting sick). What am I going to do? What are my kids going to do?” Luce said, adding that teachers also worried about spreading the virus. “That guilt is heavy.”
When the Hamilton County educators sent their letter Tuesday, the county was in red on the state’s map of community spread, which indicated the highest risk for spread.
The state updates that map weekly on Wednesdays and the county, along with much of the state shifted to orange, the next level down from red. During the weekly press conference, state leaders also pointed to downward trends such as fewer hospitalizations.
However, state leaders said that doesn't yet mean teachers can be eligible for the vaccine,and stressed that there is still a way to go on the age-based populations. Holcomb also pointed out that other states have now shifted to the age-based approach that Indiana is using.
Skyrocketed workload
In Hamilton County, like across the state, districts have offered a variety of formats for learning this year from virtual to a hybrid schedule to 100% in-person.
And in the latter two cases, the union leaders wrote that means"full classrooms where social distancing is nearly impossible.” Plus, teachers are balancing both in-person and virtual students.
“The workload associated with the multitude of learning formats has skyrocketed and most of us have had to, in a sense, rethink everything we know about our profession, all of this with no additional compensation," they wrote.
Chris Sluder, president of the Westfield Classroom Teachers Association, said teachers have been amazing in how they adapted, but are doing double and triple their usual workloads. He said that there are more cars outside of schools on the weekend asteachers are there catching up on work. And that adds to their anxiety, he said.
Plus, educators are also sacrificing in their personal lives, the union leaders said.
“Our teachers, administrators, and support staff have sacrificed their physical and mental health, time with friends and family, and our high standards of instruction," the teachers associations' letter reads. "These sacrifices were made in order maintain in-person learning.”
If educators get sick, that could cause staffing shortages and impact a school's ability to keep buildings open as happened with multiple districts last semester.
While getting the vaccine won’t be an instant fix to the pandemic, Chandlersaid it’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
“There are some people that are very, very scared and have situations in their family such as with immunocompromised children,” she said, adding that the are doing their best and want to be teaching in-person but are also concerned about being around others.
In addition to this letter, the Democratic members of the state Senate’s education committeealso called on Holcomb earlier this month to allow teachers to get the vaccine sooner and clarify the state’s vaccination plan for teachers.
At Wednesday evening’s HSE school board meeting, the board voted unanimously to have Superintendent Allen Bourff send a similar letter to Holcomb on behalf of the district.
Noblesville Schools sent a letter signed by SuperintendentBeth Niedermeyer and all school board members to Holcomb on Thursday. In it, they urged the governor to "authorize the vaccination of school staff now, with the goal of keeping our facilities open and operating to best serve Hoosier families."
At Westfield Washington Schools, thedistrict is currently discussing ways to take action in support of teachers, per spokesperson Joshua Andrews. IndyStar reached out Hamilton Heights to see if the districthas similar plans.
Call IndyStar education reporter MJ Slaby at 317-447-1586 or email her at mslaby@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mjslaby.
