Vaccination of Alle-Kiski school employees moves forward

Alle-Kiski Valley school employees began receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccinations for covid-19 Thursday along with school workers across the region and state.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that school workers would receive priority for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in an effort to get children back in schools full time by the end of the month.

Wolf estimated there were about 200,000 eligible educators and school staffers across the state. That number did not account for those who already are vaccinated or anyone who doesn’t want it.

The state’s 29 intermediate units are coordinating the vaccination process.

Kiski Area School District altered its school calendar to help accommodate the vaccinations.

Superintendent Tim Scott said more than 300 district employees intended to get vaccinated Saturday through Wednesday at the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit in Greensburg. The district has more than 400 employees.

The district, which had an already scheduled off-day Friday, changed its schedule to be off Monday “to create as big of window as we could to get our folks vaccinated,” Scott said.

All district employees are eligible to receive the free vaccine.

Each district employee is responsible for making an appointment and for travel to and from Greensburg.

“I’m pleased Kiski will get vaccinated. It doesn’t really change anything for us with our academics, but it will provide comfort and relief and greater confidence that our people are less at risk,” Scott said.

Burrell Superintendent Shannon Wager said this week her district was hoping to avoid taking a school day off for staff to receive the vaccine. Because the district is not coordinating the vaccinations, she said the district doesn’t have control over scheduling appointments.

“I will not know until those getting the vaccine let us know when their appointments are,” Wagner said, adding she didn’t know how many employees might get the vaccine.

Deer Lakes said it has been allocated 107 Johnson & Johnson vaccines for employees to receive through next Thursday at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in Homestead. The district said it has been told additional employees who want to get vaccinated will be able to do so by the end of the month. The school calendar will not be changed.

New Kensington-Arnold School District said this week it expected just more than 150 employees to schedule appointments with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, though it has been offered the opportunity to receive as many as 300 vaccines.

While some employees have chosen not to get vaccinated, a majority of employees are expected to be vaccinated with either the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine by the end of March, according to Acting Superintendent Jon Banko.

Highlands said it expected 123 employees to schedule appointments with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to receive the vaccine through Thursday.

Allegheny Valley School District did not say how many employees it expected to get vaccinated, but spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak said the district would receive a list of those who completed the vaccination process through the intermediate unit.

In Leechburg Area, where all classes at the junior and senior high schools moved online for Thursday and Friday because of several positive covid cases this week, 33 employees were expected to receive doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through Saturday. Superintendent Tiffany Nix said the district was given 35 appointment slots through the ARIN Intermediate Unit, which serves districts in Armstrong and Indiana counties.

Nix said no school days will need to be canceled and schedules should not be affected, as teachers were asked to make their appointments around their class obligations.

An additional 45 teachers and staff already have been vaccinated at least partially with the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, Nix said. Within the next two and a half weeks, she said all teachers who wanted a vaccine will be fully vaccinated, after everyone receives their second doses. There were 32 teachers and staff who opted not to get a covid vaccine, she said.

Officials in the Freeport Area and Apollo-Ridge school districts did not respond to requests for comment.