Bucks Co. IU Hosts Vaccine Clinic For Teachers, School Staff

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Teachers and school support staff in Bucks County will have the opportunity to get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit vaccination clinic, which officially launched this week.

The Bucks County Intermediate Unit is among the first IUs across the state to begin vaccinations. Established in 1931, it operates as a regional education service agency to provide programs to public and private K-12 schools, school districts and the community of Bucks County.

The statewide vaccination program for school employees and contractors was recently launched by Gov. Tom Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Legislative Task Force. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state health and education departments are partnering with the 28 IUs across the state to establish regional vaccine sites across the state.

The governor and the task force set aside 94,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine specifically for PreK-12 school employees and contractors, and 4,700 doses have been set aside for education workers in Bucks County.

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Students and staff in non-public schools in Bucks County will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at the site between March 10 through March 17. Educators and school staff who work directly with students with disabilities, English language learners, early child programs and elementary education students are among the first eligible to register to receive a vaccine.

Bucks IU Executive Director Mark Hoffman said he was pleased that the IU could play a central in coordinating the statewide effort.

“Along with our partners in the Governor’s Office, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association (PEMA), the Pennsylvania National Guard, and AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, LLC, the Bucks IU is honored to help facilitate local efforts to vaccinate Bucks County’s educators and school staff," Hoffman said. "These vaccination efforts provide another mitigation strategy within our respective school Health and Safety plans to increase the level of in-person instruction across Pennsylvania. We are pleased to support this important work in every way possible.”

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