Montco District Closed As 40 Teachers Suffer Vaccine Side Effects

UPPER PERKIOMEN, PA — A Montgomery County school district was shut down on Friday as teachers dealt with side effects from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

At least 40 staff members from five different schools within the Upper Perkiomen School District called out sick on Friday, officials said.

"There will not be adequate staff or substitutes to provide instruction and coverage in classrooms," Superintendent Allyn J. Roche said in a message to the district community. "A virtual day is not possible given the number of staff members that are unable to teach due to feeling unwell, and no asynchronous work has been planned for tomorrow."

The closure was a "functional closure," and there was no online learning.

It's not the first time that side effects caused a closure in the county this week. The North Penn School District pre-emptively shut its doors to in-person learning Monday, knowing that many of its staff members were receiving the shot over the weekend.

Pennsylvania announced a special plan to vaccinate teachers and all school staff a few weeks ago using the new Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine. A total of 28 mass vaccine sites have been set up for teachers at intermediate units statewide, including at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.

Some mild side effects to the vaccines are common, and indicate that the vaccine is working. Side effects can include flu-like fever, headache, chills, body aches, general fatigue, and more.

Gov. Tom Wolf has said he hopes all school employees are vaccinated by the end of March.

Upper Perkiomen said it would use an emergency day built into its calendar to make up for the day off.