MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Berkeley County Schools’ employees who already have received the first round of the COVID-19 vaccination will soon get the follow-up booster shot.
Ron Stephens, the school district’s assistant superintendent of student services, said a clinic will be held Friday at Martinsburg High School to administer the second shot to them.
Those participants were part of the first group of employees who received the initial primary dose last month.
Three clinics were conducted, and an estimated 1,100 employees have received the vaccine to date, he said.
Stephens spoke at Monday night’s board of education meeting, held virtually because of inclement weather.
The initial round of vaccinations for employees age 50 or older was held Jan. 8, with 460 receiving the shot.
State officials provided required information for the clinics, including dates, start times, number of available doses and a list of those eligible for the vaccines on those days, Stephens said.
“We have been told we will have 460 possible doses and that is for all the employees who were vaccinated during the first clinic, so we’re looking to give the second dose to those employees,” he said.
“All of those clinics have been targeting employees who are age 50 and up, but when openings came up and a dose was available at the end of the session, then there was a call list that was put together and changed almost every day as names were coming in,” he said.
Superintendent Patrick K. Murphy said he knows other employees still want to be vaccinated but didn’t fit into the initial groups that were identified as “high risk.”
“We’re going to continue to advocate the fact that educators be put at the top of that list,” Murphy said. “Availability of vaccine is a reality, all you have to do is turn on the television, but we haven’t forgotten and I see that as instrumental in getting kids back to school. So we’re going to continue to push and work in that direction.”
Murphy also said the county’s current number of COVID-19 cases continues to impact the school district.
Pre-K through eighth grade students are continuing on a rotating two-day schedule for in-person instruction, but older students are still receiving remote instruction, he said.
“At the high school level we are still remote and that’s because the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ map is still red,” Murphy said. “Should it turn not red, we will turn to a two-day rotating schedule for our 'brick' (in-person) students while our 'click' students will remain remote.”
Mondays will remain a remote instruction day for all students, he said, adding that other district activities such as food distribution are continuing because of inclement weather and the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
School was closed Tuesday for a snow day, and the central office didn’t open until mid-morning.
A free distribution of students’ curbside meals will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at four locations: Hedgesville Elementary School, Mill Creek Intermediate School, South Middle School and Spring Mills Primary School.
February 03, 2021 at 01:00AM
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Berkeley County Schools begins booster vaccinations for employees - Herald-Mail Media
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