Every Johnson County teacher who wanted a COVID shot has gotten one, officials say
As more students return to classrooms, Johnson County health officials report that all educators who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have gotten their first dose.
Since the county began vaccinating school staff at the beginning of February, 15,000 educators and child care workers have received the first of two shots. In public schools, more than 74% of staff members have been vaccinated, along with 72% of private school staff and 65% of child care workers, the department said Thursday.
Health officials expect those numbers to grow as more teachers and staff members indicate interest in receiving the vaccine, which is voluntary.
Meanwhile, teachers in Missouri are now allowed to receive the vaccine, under a federal push to open schools. Missouri officials have received criticism for not prioritizing teachers, since under the state’s plan, teachers would not have been eligible until March 15.
Elizabeth Holzschuh, Johnson County epidemiologist, said earlier this week that the health department and its partner health care facilities completed the first round of doses ahead of schedule. That was boosted, she said, by Gov. Laura Kelly in mid-February dedicating extra vaccine doses to teachers and staff throughout the state.
“It means great things for our school districts,” Holzschuh said. “They won’t have to quarantine their staff when they’re exposed, which is a huge win for them. That means they won’t really have to be struggling to get substitutes to fill those positions. It means continuity of education for our children.”
“It’s such a big step in the right direction.”
Last fall, as COVID-19 cases hit record highs in Johnson County, district officials said they were struggling to keep school doors open as hundreds of teachers were quarantined due to COVID-19 exposures. A shortage of substitutes and teachers forced districts to return to online-only learning for some students in November.
Now with teachers slated to receive the second dose of the vaccine in the coming weeks, officials are more confident that all students can return to classrooms — although many teachers remain concerned about the safety of themselves and their families.
All Johnson County districts have elementary students in classrooms full time. The Olathe district allowed middle and high school students to return to in-person learning, five days a week, at the beginning of this month. Both Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission plan to bring older students back to classrooms full time in a couple of weeks.
Along with educators, 15% of Johnson County’s population has received a first dose of the vaccine, Sanmi Areola, the county’s public health director, estimated.
The county continues to vaccinate residents ages 65 and older. He said Thursday that every resident in that age group who signed up to receive a vaccine should be contacted to make an appointment. Officials encourage anyone eligible who hasn’t signed up yet to do so now at jocogov.org/covid-19-vaccine.
Grocery store, restaurant, bar and transportation workers are now eligible to book appointments. And the health department is also vaccinating homeless residents as part of the current phase.
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Johnson County continues to drop. As of Thursday, the county’s positivity rate — or the number of positive cases over the past 14 days — was 3.2%. That’s down from a high of more than 15% last fall.
The county’s incidence rate — or the number of new cases per 100,000 people — was 89, down from about 230 this time last month. And that’s down from a high of more than 800 in November.
In total, the county has reported 43,585 coronavirus cases, and 652 residents have died from the virus.
Areola urges residents to continue abiding by the mask mandate, avoiding large gatherings and practicing other safety protocols.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 2:33 PM.
