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HARRISBURG, PA (March 3, 2021) – PSEA President Rich Askey today commended Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers on a new plan to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for school staff members in an effort to safely return Pennsylvania’s students to in-person instruction and reduce health risks for staff members, students, and communities.  

“This is an incredibly important step toward returning Pennsylvania’s schools and communities to in-person instruction and ensuring that students, school staff members, their families, and their communities are better protected from COVID-19,” Askey said. “This is good for everyone, and we thank Gov. Wolf and lawmakers for their leadership and their commitment to getting this done.” 

Askey noted that the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Joint Task Force, which includes Wolf administration officials and a bipartisan group of legislators, approved a plan to designate 94,600 doses of the recently approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for school staff members. Vaccinations will be administered through intermediate units across the state. 

“Making the vaccine available to school staff is a key step to getting more students back in the classroom, more parents back to work without worry, and our economy back on track,” Askey said. “PSEA has been advocating for this kind of approach for the past six weeks, and we are very pleased that state leaders have listened and have taken swift action to put this plan in motion. Prioritizing the vaccine for educators, support staff, and administrators is absolutely essential to providing the best possible education to our students and keeping our communities healthy.

“The men and women who teach and serve students every day in our schools have gone above and beyond for their students in a time of unprecedented challenge. Our schools are essential, and vaccinating the dedicated people who make them work is critical to keeping everyone in them safe and healthy.” 

Askey is a Harrisburg music teacher and the president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 178,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.