On Tuesday, March 2nd, President Joe Biden declared, “My challenge to all states, territories, the District of Columbia is this: We want every educator, school staff member, child-care worker to receive at least one shot by the end of the month of March.” Since then, action has been taken and vaccines are on the move to Perkiomen Valley School District. Starting on March 12th, all willing staff members received a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
February 27th, 2021, marked the day the first COVID-19 vaccine was authorized by the FDA for public use. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot that has been found to be 85% effective “in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination [Johnson & Johnson].”
Based on a small teacher survey, side effects of the vaccine include “flu-like symptoms” such as chills, fatigue, headaches, and body aches. “I felt lethargic and achy the day after but after hydrating and resting, I was fine by the next evening,” Mr. Libby, a PVHS art teacher, said.
The vaccines are meant to ensure further safety for the schools staff and students. PVHS has been following all COVID-19 guidelines throughout the 2020-2021 school year, but with the vaccines teachers are “much more at ease in the classroom now [Mr. Libby].”
Even when vaccinated, it’s important to stay masked and keep social distancing in school and in public.
“I do feel safer at school but still not 100% safe where I would feel comfortable taking my mask off or getting close to others who aren’t vaccinated for more than a minute or two at a time,”math teacher Mrs. Krause says, when asked about how being vaccinated affected her mindset in the classroom.
Staying informed is important as more vaccines and COVID-19 protection alternatives continue to be released. Looking to the future, hopefully more students and faculty throughout the district can continue getting vaccinations.