As COVID-19 vaccine promised soon, Fort Worth ISD has a request for Gov. Abbott
As Texas prepares to receive limited amounts of the coronavirus vaccine, the Fort Worth school district asked Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday for teachers to be among the first to receive the vaccine.
Superintendent Kent P. Scribner, representing both the Fort Worth ISD and in his capacity as chair of the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents, made the request from the governor in a letter. He asked that Texas teachers and principals be included in the vaccine’s initial distribution because they are “on the front lines every day.”
“[Teachers] are public servants who are doing their very best to keep children safe and educated, and their work has lasting implications for generations of Texans to come,” Dr. Scribner wrote in the letter to Abbott.
The Fort Worth district has had 405 staff members test positive for coronavirus this year, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The Texas Urban Council includes some of Texas’ largest school districts including Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Austin ISD, Houston ISD and San Antonio ISD, among others.
The Tarrant County health department has been holding calls with Texas health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but there is no official word when the vaccine will arrive, said Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director.
The first vaccinations will go to first-responders and high-risk groups. It might not be until 2021 when vaccines are available for the general public, but Taneja said the vaccine will be available at pharmacies when it is released to the general public.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 12:08 PM with the headline "As COVID-19 vaccine promised soon, Fort Worth ISD has a request for Gov. Abbott ."
