Educators Travel More Than An Hour To Washington County Coronavirus Vaccine Clinic
CALIFORNIA, Pa. (KDKA) -- At a clinic in Washington County, 100 Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines are being administered per hour.
Some of those educators traveled more than an hour for their turn.
"This was done pretty much at warp speed. It was only about a week ago we found out we were going to do this," said Don Martin, the director for Intermediate Unit 1.
This IU is responsible for vaccinating any school staff from Washington, Greene and Fayette counties. The central location for the clinic is California High School.
Dave Niekem teaches at Avella High School and was all smiles after getting his shot.
"I'm thrilled. I had COVID, my wife had COVID and I wouldn't wish it on anyone," Niekem said.
His district and about 90 percent of the schools in the three counties started in the classroom and haven't stopped in-person learning since the fall.
"When you look at rural schools in particular, with our three counties, there is a broadband issue. There's an issue with connectivity and we had to address that very quickly," Martin said.
Martin said despite the challenges, districts made learning happen. Plus, businesses and local organizations stepped up to offer internet to help students.
Now with the opportunity to be vaccinated, teachers are breathing a sigh of relief as they continue in-person education.
"It's very comforting. Mentally, it makes you feel a lot safer and that's a great thing," said Mary Adams, who teaches at Western Area Career and Technology Center.
The clinic will run through Thursday, administering about 3,000 total shots.
Martin told KDKA this initiative will cover all educators who want a vaccine. If there are any extra doses, the state has dictated those go to first responders in the area.
