Texas teachers, child caregivers now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine

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Texas teachers are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, health officials announced Wednesday.

Effective immediately, all vaccine providers in Texas are required to include all school personnel, Head Start Program personnel and daycare personnel in their vaccine administration programs, according to a message sent by the Texas Department of State Health services to the providers.

The notice comes after the Biden government on Tuesday urged all states to prioritize the vaccination of teachers and school staff. Texas had not previously prioritized teachers. Texas received a letter from the United States Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday evening, according to a press release from the DSHS.

Those who are eligible are those who work in kindergartens, elementary and high schools, as well as Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff and bus drivers) and those who work as or for accredited childcare providers, including center -based and family caregivers, “according to federal guideline.

State health officials said earlier this week that they expected to end vaccination of older and most vulnerable Texans in the coming weeks and broaden the eligibility to include more Texans by the end of the month.

That new group was expected to include teachers ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, but officials have not said who else would be in that new “1C” group.

The first priority groups 1A and 1B, which health officials have said, include more than 8 million people, including primary care health workers, people over 65, and people of all ages with medical vulnerabilities.

Teachers’ early uptake comes as vaccine supplies increase and 2 million people, or 6.8% of the Texas population, have been fully vaccinated with both doses of the two-shot regimens.

The newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose, was administered in Texas this week, officials said.

Since March 1, 5.7 million doses have been administered, with providers nationwide administering an average of 123,469 vaccine doses per day in the past week. None of the vaccines are approved for children under the age of 16, who make up about 23% of the population.

The supply of the vaccine falls far short of both the demand and the number of people who qualify for it.

The decision also comes the day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced it would allow all companies to reopen and revoke a long-standing mask mandate. Many school officials, unprepared for Abbott’s decision, chose to continue demanding masks on their campuses and await further state instruction.

Educators and advocates have begged the state to include teachers in rolling out its vaccination program this winter and spring. Following Abbott’s announcement Tuesday, several groups of educators rebuked him for removing the mask requirement without teachers prioritizing vaccines.

“Abbott has escaped his responsibility to follow medical advice and clarify what needs to be done to keep our schools safe. Every top health official has stressed that even with vaccinations we must continue to use the simplest tools to stop the spread, ”Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement Tuesday.

In response to Biden’s announcement, CVS Pharmacy had already made arrangements for educators, school staff, and childcare workers in Texas and other states where it offers vaccines.

CVS is part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, a partnership between the federal government, states, and pharmacies across the country.

Karen Brooks Harper contributed to this report.