HARTFORD, Conn — Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford kicked off a two-day COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Thursday morning where 1,500 eligible educators and staff members from Hartford Public Schools will get their shots, kicking off the first wave of vaccinations for the school system.
“I have a little bit of apprehension, but I know it’s needed for children and for my family,” said Teriko Roberts, an educator at Bulkeley High School.
“I think it’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve been stuck in for a while and it’ll be great to get back,” said Corrine Smith, Assistant Principal at Noah Webster Micro Society Magnet School.
School leaders called the vaccination clinic an equity move.
“Because our students will be able to get back to classrooms where we know they can access learning the best way possible where we know they can have access to the resources, social, emotional and academic support,” said Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez.
“We’ve got about 2,800 school staff, teachers, paras, other members of the public schools team, so this effort is going to be a two phased effort. Today and tomorrow and then a next round,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
Governor Lamont said getting school staff vaccinated is a priority in the effort to keep schools open.
“It was just magic yesterday to have the First Lady here with the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona celebrating the fact that Connecticut is one of those states where we’ve had 99% of our schools open for in-person learning,” said Gov. Lamont.
The clinic coming as Hartford Public Schools students in grades Pre-K through nine returned to full-time, in-person learning this week.
Grades 10 to 12 are continuing with a hybrid model, and families that opted for full-time remote learning can stick with that approach.
“As the weeks continue to progress and vaccinations continue to become available, we will have all of our students back in our schools later on this spring,” said Dr. Torres-Rodriguez.
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.