It's unclear when school staff will be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but Cole County Health Department and Cole County school officials expect to hold mass vaccination clinics when they do become available.
The Health Department and school leaders are in the early stages of planning for administering optional COVID-19 vaccinations to all school staff who would like to receive them.
Essential employees - including all teachers and school staff - are in Phase 1B-Tier 3 of Missouri's COVID-19 vaccination plan. This also includes people who provide contract services to schools, such as substitute teachers, bus drivers and therapists.
Tier 1, which includes first responders, emergency services and public health officials, was activated Thursday, and Tier 2, which includes Missourians who are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, will activate Monday.
There is not yet a clear timeline as to when the state will transition to Tier 3, as that depends on the state's vaccine supply, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Teachers or school staff members who qualify for Tier 2, which includes people older than 65 or who suffer from certain underlying conditions, may receive the vaccine by calling their local health provider or contacting the county Health Department, which will help them find a local provider.
School nurses fall within Phase 1A and can contact a local health care provider or health department to receive the vaccine, according to DESE. Individuals in Phase 1A will continue to be vaccinated as the state moves on to activating additional priority phases.
Where and how vaccinations will take place for Missouri school staff will look different based on the size and location of the school district or community, according to DESE.
Some Missouri school districts plan to hold vaccination clinics; others will have their staff travel to the nearest pharmacy administering vaccines. In some districts, school nurses may be able to administer the vaccine to staff members in their buildings.
Cole County private and public school leaders met with Cole County Health Department officials Tuesday to begin discussing how the schools can collaborate to provide vaccines to staff.
Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said Cole County schools likely will hold mass vaccination clinics.
"The Health Department will probably partner with some of our other vaccinators here in town to try to get them served as quickly as possible," she said.
Cole County schools leaders are looking at ways to support efforts to provide mass vaccination settings for their staff, said Ryan Burns, Jefferson City School District communications director.
"We have gymnasiums that are large enough to fit a big group to do vaccinations of more folks at the same time, so I think that was something that we were all interested in exploring - just to make it as easy as possible on our staff to allow them to not have to travel very far," Burns said.
The Health Department and school leaders are still working through logistics. Some schools may hold clinics for only their staff, or some may hold clinics that staff from other Cole County schools can attend, Campbell said.
Many aspects need to be taken into consideration, such as when each dose would be administered, the temperature and time requirements for the vaccine to be stored, required documentation and the number of employees interested in the vaccine.
"We feel confident we will be able to work together to develop a plan when more details are available," Burns said.
Campbell said she is encouraging school leaders to survey their staff on whether they're interested in the vaccine so the Health Department and schools can better plan the clinics.
"The first step is for them to determine how many staff are interested," she said. "Then we can figure out how to proceed."
Jefferson City School District and Blair Oaks R-2 School District leaders recently surveyed their staff.
Of the 1,055 JC Schools employees who responded, 76.5 percent indicated they are interested in receiving the vaccine, Burns said.
Of the 123 Blair Oaks employees who responded, about 49.6 percent indicated they are interested in receiving the vaccine, about 22.8 percent responded "maybe," and about 27.6 percent indicated they are not interested, Blair Oaks Middle School Principal Kim Walters said.
Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City surveyed its staff more than a month ago, communications Director Sandy Hentges said. About 40 people - more than 50 percent - responded they are interested, but only teachers and administrators were surveyed. The school plans to issue a second survey to all staff members once they have a better idea of when school staff can receive the vaccine, Hentges said.
"People may have changed their mind now that some people have actually been vaccinated," she said. "I think people are probably a little more comfortable with it now."
Calvary Lutheran High School is currently surveying its staff. As of Friday, there was about a 60 percent response rate, and about 33 percent of respondents had indicated they are interested in receiving the vaccine, Executive Director John Christman said.
"We want to support our teachers for all that they're doing, and for those who want the vaccine, we want to support them receiving it as soon as it becomes available," Christman said.
The Cole R-1 School District in Russellville is surveying its staff but does not yet have the final results, Superintendent Perry Gorrell said.
The News Tribune was unable to reach a representative of the Cole R-5 School District in Eugene on Friday.