‘Such a relief.’ After months on the front lines, Coast teachers get COVID-19 vaccines
Susan Cokely, a piano teacher at Biloxi High School, was first in line for a vaccine at the high school’s sports arena Wednesday afternoon. She had asked to go first because she didn’t want to be late for rehearsal for the spring musical (Shrek Jr.).
She had been eyeing appointments from the health department, but the latest times she saw would have required her to leave school early. Cokely had COVID-19 herself over Thanksgiving last year, and watched her 86-year-old mother fight the disease alone because family wasn’t allowed to visit.
So when the vaccine was available on her campus, Cokely leapt at the opportunity.
“It was such a relief for the school to do it,” Cokely said.
By 4:37 p.m., a little over half an hour after Cokely received her vaccine, staff from Singing River Health System and Med Analysis had vaccinated 187 Biloxi Public Schools staff and teachers. The line inside the gymnasium moved quickly, as a well-practiced team of Singing River employees quickly administered shots and sent teachers and staff up to the bleachers for the mandatory 15-minute waiting period.
Jason Ely, system-wide director of primary care services and an RN at Singing River, was one of the people giving shots. His team has helped 25,000 people get vaccinated so far, he said. He feels like he’s a part of history, and people are always excited to get their shots.
“They thank us for doing something we do anyways,” he said.
Other districts around the Coast have also partnered with Singing River, Memorial Hospital and other health care providers to vaccinate their employees on campus this week.
Teachers and staff at k-12 schools became eligible for the vaccine last week, along with first responders.
According to the state’s draft vaccination plan prepared in October 2020, there are 125,000 Mississippi public school staff included in the “Critical Population” of educators. Originally, they were scheduled to become eligible for the vaccine along with people over the age of 65. Officials had said that supply constraints prevented the state from opening the vaccine to teachers earlier.
Cagney Weaver, the academic strategist at Biloxi Upper Elementary, said that getting the vaccine made her feel like a return to normalcy might be on the way.
“We’re getting closer to this having some resolution,” she said.
Essential workers in the classroom
Mississippi teachers have largely been back in their classrooms since August, when most Coast schools opened as planned, despite protests from some teachers who feared they would be unable to protect themselves from COVID-19. By that point, almost all American schools had been completely closed since the spring, and there was little evidence as to what might happen when schools reopened.
Sabrina Hubb, a third grade English-Language Arts teacher at Back Bay Elementary school, is immune compromised.
“It was very scary to come back into the classroom,” she said.
Hubb said she felt reassured when she saw her school’s safety protocols.
And the major fears, that schools would become frequent mass transmission sites and that many teachers would contract the virus at school, have not come to pass.
The Centers for Disease Control has concluded that cases at schools largely parallel community transmission, indicating that while teachers and students may contract COVID-19, there’s little evidence that significant spread happens at schools where masking and social distancing are practiced.
Gov. Tate Reeves has ended Mississippi’s mask mandates, but masks are still required at schools.
A school year unlike any other
Teachers have also dealt with the disruption of frequent quarantines. Some schools, including Biloxi High School, have shut down entirely for two weeks when an outbreak occurs.
Cokely, the piano teacher, said she was glad that Biloxi High School students had respected the safety protocols.
“Our children never complain,” she said of the mask rules. “They don’t mind wearing it.”
Though case numbers have been falling since the post-holiday spike, schools are still dealing with COVID-19 exposures and subsequent quarantines. For example, the state’s most recent data on cases at schools showed 83 Gulfport High students were at home quarantining last week.
At least one Coast teacher has died from COVID-19: Tom Slade, a beloved history teacher at Vancleave High School. His family said he believed he had contracted the virus at a gathering that wasn’t school-related.
Michael Lindsey, assistant superintendent at Pass Christian and the district administrator who has taken the lead on COVID-19 safety efforts, coordinated an event yesterday where more than 70 Pass Christian employees (including Lindsey himself) received the vaccine through Memorial Hospital.
He pointed out that teachers being back in their classrooms not only allowed Coast kids to keep learning, but also made it possible for parents to keep working.
“They are on the front lines with our kids everyday,” he said. “They’ve made some sacrifices since this pandemic started, and we’re going to make sure that we take care of them.”
Mask mandate ends, but not for schools
More vaccines are on the way for Biloxi teachers and staff: through a partnership with Memorial, 175 vaccines will be available this Friday.
Other districts that have partnered with Singing River or Memorial to administer batches of more than 100 doses at campus or community facilities include Gulfport, Hancock County, Harrison County, Jackson County, Long Beach, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula-Gautier.
Biloxi Superintendent Marcus Boudreaux, who attended the vaccine distribution on Wednesday, isn’t getting vaccinated yet because he had COVID-19 too recently (and for the second time). But he enjoyed seeing staff and teachers get the shot.
“Most of them have 150 potential carriers walking past them every day,” he said.
Speaking just a few minutes before the governor’s executive order mandating masks officially expired, he said he was glad it didn’t apply to schools.
Cases at schools are typically linked to community transmission, so Boudreaux is hoping that the increase in vaccinations will keep case numbers down.
“I can just control my environment,” he said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
