South Bend Tribune
The announcements came Wednesday via bus radios and classroom intercoms.
Clara Bepe, an economics teacher at Mishawaka High School, had to check in with a neighboring teacher when she saw the news.
“Oh my goodness, is this real?” she asked, before running back to her classroom to set up a self-paced lesson for her students who were e-learning that day.
Bepe, like hundreds of other school staff members across Michiana this week, was finally being called up for her turn to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It was one of those thrilling moments,” Bepe said. “We were processing that as we were just driving: Are we really going to get it? Are they going to have enough?”
School City of Mishawaka was one of multiple Michiana districts able to secure large numbers of the vaccine for educators in the hours after President Joe Biden directed states to prioritize school staff through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
Chad Brugh, associate principal at Mishawaka High School, said the district was contacted Wednesday morning by a Meijer representative who said the grocery giant’s Portage Road location had 400 vaccinations available to any teachers able to make it to the store for their first shot while supplies lasted.
The call set off a quick scramble to get as many teachers to Meijer as possible, Brugh said. Elementary principals and support staff stepped in for classes at the lower levels while middle and high school teachers on the district’s weekly e-learning day set up alternative lessons to their typical live remote instruction.
At the high school, about 45 teachers, or nearly all that wanted to do so, received their first vaccine Wednesday, Brugh said.
“It was perfect timing,” Brugh said. “It was almost like somebody was smiling down on us.”
Eligibility expands as in-person instruction increases
For weeks, educators have called upon Indiana leaders to prioritize teachers in the state’s vaccination plan. So far, Indiana has taken an age-based approach to vaccinating Hoosiers through its state-sponsored sites.
The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program will provide doses to teachers through participating Kroger, Meijer and Walmart locations, Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news conference Wednesday.
In that same conference, Holcomb announced Indiana would expand its age-based eligibility requirements to include anyone 50 years or older — also greatly extending the availability of vaccination to educators across the state.
Mike Lureman, human resources director for the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp., said age-eligibility alone opens up vaccines to about 650 P-H-M employees. Another 50 or so, such as school resource officers or nurses, were already qualified through their essential personnel status.
The district is now working to establish an onsite vaccination clinic for its staff as more details become known about the federal program.
The expanded eligibility couldn’t have come at a better time, educators say, as Michiana districts proceed with plans to increase students’ time in classrooms.
The South Bend Community School Corp., Mishawaka schools and P-H-M have all recently announced plans to bring students back to four or five days of in-person instruction following spring break.
“The quicker we get all of the school employees vaccinated, the safer we will all be and the sooner we can all get back to normal,” said P-H-M Superintendent Jerry Thacker, who co-authored a letter last month with the district’s school board calling on Holcomb to accelerate the state’s timeline for teacher vaccinations.
South Bend clinic serves school staff
Like Mishawaka administrators, South Bend school officials say they received a call from a Meijer on Wednesday.
In less than 24 hours, the district organized a one-day clinic in its Brown Community Learning Center, offering 1,100 doses to all student-facing staff regardless of age, said Rene Sanchez, assistant superintendent of operations for South Bend schools.
Staff on Thursday received their first of the two-dose vaccine. Another clinic will be organized in three weeks to administer employees’ second dose, Sanchez said.
“Our efforts this week have been in response to the national effort to accelerate the safe re-opening of schools,” Meijer spokesman Joe Hirschmugl said in a provided statement. “As one of the retailers chosen to be a state and federal partner in Indiana, our pharmacy team will continue to coordinate clinics — both at our stores and at offsite locations — as we do our part in this massive effort to vaccinate people against COVID-19.”
Sandy Horvath, a South Bend bus driver, said she was grateful for the district’s collaboration, making it easier for school employees to navigate the vaccination process.
“I’m glad they’ve done something for us, so we don’t have to look for when and where do we go, and when do we qualify?” Horvath said after receiving her shot.
Looking across a bustling Brown gymnasium, Jacob Timmons, a biology teacher at Adams High School, said educators’ quick response goes to show how dedicated they are to getting back to their students safely.
“It’s exciting to start building that herd immunity,” Timmons said. “It’s a hallmark of how much teachers want to get this done and get back to work.”
Kroger’s vaccination appointment system is now open to teachers and all pharmacies in St. Joseph County will participate, said Eric Halvorson, a spokesperson for Kroger Central Division.
Walmart will similarly update its online scheduling system to reflect changes in eligibility, said Rebecca Thomason, a senior manager of corporation communications.
Meijer’s vaccination clinics accept registration online or through text. Those interested can text COVID to 75049.
