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PCH provides nearly 100 one-shot vaccines to local educators, others
For months now, the debate has raged in the state: When should teachers become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine?
So, when educators finally became eligible last week and Putnam County Hospital got a shipment of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine, the fit was obvious for hospital officials.
“Teachers became eligible on Monday, and we thought, ‘Perfect. We can do a one-shot, one-dose clinic,’” hospital CEO Dennis Weatherford said.
That’s exactly what PCH did. Already operating a Pfizer vaccine clinic three days a week at the Putnam County Fairgrounds Community Building, hospital officials reached out to school superintendents to fill in the spots for a pop-up clinic Thursday evening.
When a some spots still remained, the remainder of the 100 doses were opened up to long-term care facility employees and some municipal workers.
Weatherford explained that it was the least the hospital could do for the teachers and other school workers of Putnam County.
“As soon as they were on the list, we thought, ‘perfect.’” Weatherford said.
For their part, some of the teachers getting the vaccine Thursday evening were not simply happy for themselves, but to be doing their part to keep their schools, community and country safer.
Jared Brentlinger, a long-term substitute at Deer Meadow and Ridpath Primary Schools in Greencastle, said he felt it was appropriate for teachers to be vaccinated simply because of what they can deal with on a daily basis.
“I feel sure a lot of teachers deal with health care type incidents with bodily fluids — some actually deal with kids with special needs,” Brentlinger said. “So it’s just another barrier to helping kids learn.”
Brentlinger went on to explain that even though he had COVID-19 in November, he still thought it appropriate to get the vaccine.
“Even if you’ve already had COVID, I endorse getting the shot.”
Jim Padgett, an art teacher at South Putnam’s Central Elementary and Fillmore Elementary, said he was excited the opportunity came so quickly, as teachers have no intention to stop teaching.
“We’re definitely going to keep working at school, so we prefer to be vaccinated,” Padgett said.
He added that while the year has been stressful, the efforts undertaken by school employees have definitely eased his mind.
“I felt like everybody took it seriously. That helps you feel a little bit better,” Padgett said. “It’s kind of scary, except for the fact that they said the children are getting it less.”
Mark Wheeler is an English teacher at Cloverdale Middle School. He was straightforward in why he was getting vaccinated.
“I’m doing my part so that the country can open up again,” Wheeler said. “And that’s honestly the No. 1 reason I’m doing it.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I’m happy that it’s Johnson & Johnson because it’s one shot.”
Weatherford explained that the fact that the extra doses were Johnson & Johnson gave PCH a bit more freedom to do more of a pop-up clinic, which did not require registration through the state website.
“By this time, some of the teachers have met the age requirement, but on our end, the teachers seemed a perfect fit,” Weatherford said.
The school workers still had to show their ID to make sure they were on the list from the school superintendents. Besides this, they had to provide insurance information.
“The patient never pays anything, but the insurance companies do pay an administrative fee,” Weatherford said.
All in all, it was a quick process. The hospital notified superintendents on Tuesday morning, all slots were filled by Wednesday afternoon and by 7 p.m. Thursday, “we have 100 more people vaccinated, which is why we’re here,” Weatherford said.