In an effort to get kids back to school, the state has dedicated a minimum of 10 percent of vaccine supply to K-12 school staff and child care workers, with a focus on communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic

PRJUSD received 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, enough to inoculate their entire staff over the next two weeks

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that, since the state began dedicating 10 percent of vaccine supply for education workers on Mar. 1, over 200,000 education workers have been vaccinated, far exceeding the state’s goal of 75,000 vaccines per week.

“This is welcome news for teachers, students, and parents as more and more schools reopen safely across the state,” said Governor Newsom. “We will continue working with our local partners to accelerate this effort in communities across the state so that all school staff have access to a vaccine within weeks.”

California was among the first states to authorize vaccines for education workers, with vaccine prioritization a core component of the Safe Schools for All Plan since December. Prior to the Governor’s 10-percent commitment, 35 counties were actively vaccinating education workers. Last week, through accelerated county-led efforts and supplemental state efforts, over 200,000 education workers in all 58 counties were vaccinated.

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District announced this afternoon that they have received 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is enough to inoculate their entire staff over the next two weeks. The news comes just after the District announced its return to class for secondary students starting on Mar. 16.

Previous to this news, the District received small apportionments of vaccine through County Health and the County Office of Education, which required them to prioritize staff categories to deliver vaccines to those at the most significant risk – beginning with special education teachers, etc. This large quantity means that all staff will be able to receive vaccinations.  

All school districts will receive dedicated vaccine doses as well.

This news comes on the heels of continued success in California’s vaccination effort – 10.5 million vaccinations have been administered in the state. More than one in 10 Californians over the age of 16 (3.35 million) are fully vaccinated, and more than one in four (1.7 million) people 65 and over are fully vaccinated.

The Governor last week signed a $6.6 billion package to safely get students back in school, which provides additional funding to support safety measures for in-person instruction and expanded learning opportunities. 

The package also codifies several successful state initiatives, including the Governor’s commitment to dedicate 10 percent of the state’s vaccine supply to education workers – such as teachers, paraprofessionals, school bus drivers, child care workers, and site-based administrators. The state outlined its plan to execute on the Governor’s commitment last month.

For more information about safe returns to in-person instruction, please visit schools.covid19.ca.gov.