School Vaccinations, Day 1: Kemp Thanks Gwinnett, Spanks Atlanta

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Gov. Brian Kemp applauded one school district’s efforts to get its employees vaccinated on the first day they were eligible, then slammed another one Monday for waiting and instead playing “pandemic politics.”

Employees of Gwinnett County Schools started receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations Monday at Gwinnett Place Mall, administered at an anticipated rate of 600 a day by the Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale Health Department. That’s a third of all vaccinations administered daily at the mall, said health department spokesperson Chad Wasdin.

Atlanta educators, on the other hand, won’t receive their first COVID-19 shots until March 24, 26 and 27 and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

All school employees in Georgia became eligible Monday for COVID-19 vaccines.

Kemp thanked Gwinnett County’s school system for getting its employees vaccinated as quickly as possible, then spanked Atlanta’s school system for waiting during a press conference outside the mass-vaccination center at Gwinnett Place Mall.

“Atlanta Public Schools board sent me a letter (in February) demanding that teachers needed to be vaccinated when they knew dang well I couldn’t do that. We didn’t have the supply to do that” Kemp said, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was pandemic politics at its best, and now they’re going to wait two or three weeks. I believe that they’re doing a disservice to their teachers.”

A statement from the Atlanta school district Monday responded that Kemp's comments "don't reflect the planning, advocacy and commitment" the school system has already shown.

While the line outside the mall was relatively short — those receiving vaccines were advised to wait in their cars until it was their turn — the parking lot at that end of Gwinnett Place was unusually full.

Gwinnett school employees who received shots Monday were notified of their appointments last Wednesday. Among those prioritized during the first two weeks for COVID-1 vaccinations are teachers, parapros, bus drivers and school nutrition staff, according to Gwinnett County schools spokesperson Sloan Roach. These employees are in contact with the most students every day, Roach said, and not necessarily able to maintain social distance.

A little more than half of Gwinnett County’s approximately 25,000 school employees — including part-timers and active substitute teachers — said they were interested in being vaccinated, Roach said. If you include only teachers, counselors, media specialists and tech coordinators, that percentage goes up to 61 percent.

Although educators were eligible for shots starting Monday, they don't have to go through the Gwinnett school system and the mass-vaccination site at Gwinnett Place to get them, Wasdin said. Private providers are always an option as long as you're eligible.

Read the story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.