We learned yesterday (December 2) that Texas will receive 1.4 million doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine within the next two weeks.

Those who will receive the vaccine during the initial rollout include health care workers, frontline workers and vulnerable populations. The state will also use other criteria such as mitigating health inequities, scientific evidence and epidemiology, geographic diversity and public feedback.

You could certainly make the argument that school staff should be classified as frontline workers and according to WFAA, superintendents from Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Austin ISD, Houston ISD and San Antonio ISD are petitioning Governor Abbott to include school staff in the initial allotment of the vaccine.

Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner, who serves as the Chair of the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents, penned a letter to Governor Abbott on behalf of the other superintendents, saying the following:

Our campus-based educators are on the front lines every day. They are teaching in person, interacting with children and other adults. And, while they are utilizing best practices in safety protocols, they are still at a much higher risk of contracting COVID than those of us who can work in a closed office setting or from home.

Scribner went on to ask that educators who work in cities and counties where COVID infection rates are highest be given priority for the vaccine.

According to state data, it has been estimated that 31,700 students and 18,000 school staff have been infected with COVID-19 as of this posting.

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