January 10, 2021
ICSD Developing Plan for COVID-19 Vaccination of Personnel
On January 8, Governor Cuomo announced the expansion of COVID-19 vaccination eligibility in New York State to Phase 1B, which includes education workers. In light of this announcement, the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) is working to formulate a plan for the vaccination of district personnel in close collaboration with the Tompkins County Health Department, Cayuga Health System and district unions.
Under the phased distribution of the vaccine, appointments will be made available for group 1B as early as this week, based on vaccine availability, in parallel with the ongoing vaccination of direct and ancillary health care professionals in group 1A. The largest group, 1B includes 3.2 million New Yorkers who will be eligible to receive the vaccine, as outlined below.
Phase 1A (eligible as of 1/04)
|
Phase 1B (eligible as of 1/11)
|
- school nurses
- school psychologists
- speech pathologists
- audiologists
- occupational therapists
- physical therapists
- social workers
|
- 870,000 education workers
- 207,000 first responders
- 100,000 public safety workers
- 100,000 public transit workers
- 1.4 million people 75 and older
|
The governor’s office and the New York State Department of Health are asking unions to organize vaccine administrations for their constituents, including but not limited to police, firefighters and educators, to enable other providers to focus on the 75+ age group. According to the governor's office, if viable plans are established, these groups will receive weekly allocations from their local health departments, rather than pharmacies, primary care offices, hospitals or health care centers.
Based on the current distribution of vaccines to New York State by the federal government, it is estimated that it will take 14 weeks to administer vaccines to all eligible persons in groups 1A and 1B (through April 16). The ICSD is working to establish a vaccination plan in alignment with the state’s 10 Guiding Principles, which reflect the district’s commitment to equity. Communication regarding the ICSD’s vaccination plan will be forthcoming.
For more information, visit Tompkins County Health Department Vaccine Information and New York State Phased Distribution of the Vaccine.
Top
|