Even as state lawmakers push for an accelerated return to in-person learning, the State of Tennessee is announcing that teachers will not be able to receive COVID-19 vaccines as quickly as planned.
Chalkbeat has more:
Tennessee teachers, school staff, and child care workers must wait for COVID-19 vaccinations until after people age 70 and older receive their shots, state officials said Friday.
The new directive pauses the inoculations of educators, which already had begun in many rural counties. As of Thursday evening, more than half of counties in the state had run out of vaccine doses.
Based on current projections, it seems teachers will begin to be vaccinated again at the end of February, with a goal of saturation by sometime in March.
The announcement of the pause comes as the state reports an ever-increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Your support – $5 or more – makes publishing education news possible.