VUE President: Vaccines For Teachers Over 50 A Step In The Right Direction

DeLand, FL – Getting the COVID-19 vaccine for all Volusia County Schools teachers is something that their union, Volusia United Educators (VUE), has been working on since the vaccine became available. VUE President Elizabeth Albert said it’s a step in the right direction but "it’s obviously not enough."   Albert said that everyone in our schools is at higher risk just by showing up to work each day because schools are not built for social distancing. "We know we have issues with folks following the mandatory face-covering policy and not everyone has had access to the vaccine but definitely a step in the right direction." The Volusia County School District sent out an email on Monday (March 1) at around 9 p.m. to the teachers who became eligible after Governor Ron DeSantis issued the executive order making teachers, law enforcement, and firefighters over the age of 50 eligible for the vaccine. Albert said the email stated that some vaccinations had been made available through Advent Health and it was a first-come, first-serve online sign-up process. "Those vaccine opportunities were filled very quickly, within an hour. Nonetheless, we were able to get some folks signed up so the positive outcome is that more school employees have been provided the opportunity." At this time, there’s no word on whether the school district will hold another event for teachers. In the meantime, the executive order says that those eligible can get the vaccine at all providers administering any COVID-19 vaccine. This means that teachers over the age of 50, along with law enforcement and firefighters can register through the state’s website, MyVaccine.fl.gov, Publix, or Winn-Dixie in Volusia County.