Tuesday night the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) received a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directing states to expand eligibility to include people who work in school and child care operations.
The federal directive to all states defined the people eligible as "those who work in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools, as well as Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff, and bus drivers) and those who work as or for licensed child care providers, including center-based and family care providers."
Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina released the following statement on educators getting vaccine priority:
"The Texas State Teachers Association applauds President Biden for acting where Gov. Abbott had failed and ordering all school employees and child care workers to receive priority for COVID-19 vaccines. This is a big win for educators, and it also is a win for their students and their families because it will help to make our school buildings and communities safer."
In addition, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered pharmacies participating in the vaccination program to reserve unfilled vaccination slots for school employees and child care workers for the remainder of March.
According to the DSHS press release, this action does not change the other groups prioritized for vaccination in Texas. "Providers are encouraged to continue their efforts to vaccinate older adults since the burden of COVID-19 falls most severely on people age 65 and older."
