Two McHenry County high schools vaccinate 6,800 educators in groundbreaking vaccination clinics
Amanda Underwood Huntley High School math teacher Laura Jenkins verifies some information with a nurse before receiving her vaccine,
HUNTLEY – Huntley High School and Woodstock North High School volunteered their facilities for the groundbreaking COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics that took place Feb. 11 through Feb. 12.
Susan Karras, the director of nursing for the McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH), stated that the closed Points of Distribution (POD) clinics were formed in partnership with the two schools, to tackle the 10,000 McHenry County educators who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Woodstock North High School hosted educators from the northern region, while Huntley High School handled the southern region of the county. Karras mentioned that MCDH allotted 6,800 doses for the two school clinics, stating that the health department asked McHenry County schools and other learning institutions, to enroll interested educators in order to obtain a number from these facilities to meet the demand.
“Since we’ve gotten that initial rollout and have started this planning, many of the educators have changed their minds and they want to get the vaccine. We are not going to be able to accommodate them because we just don’t have enough vaccine right now. But we will be offering future clinics for those teachers and educators,” Karras said talking about educators who did not initially enroll for the vaccine.
Huntley School District 158 (D158) superintendent Scott Rowe, commented that in order to offset that impediment that many school districts in the county felt, about coming back to school buildings in large groups, D158 made the decision that it was their responsibility to step up in an attempt to vaccinate educators faster than the county alone, could accommodate for.
“We will see just over 1,700 people today (Feb. 11) and just under 1,800 people tomorrow (Feb. 12). We’ve all experienced so much. We’ve all lost something during this pandemic. Over 85% of our staff agreed [to get vaccinated], which is almost double the national average for regular flu vaccines. Our teachers are dedicated and ready to welcome more of our students back and this is a big step in the right direction,” Rowe said.
Rowe expressed his gratefulness with the tremendous partnership with all the districts in the community, as well as MCDH’s willingness to handle the inoculation of educators, a little differently.
“A huge thank you to all the volunteers. The white coats that are here are nurses from our school districts and then later today and tomorrow you’ll see volunteers from the community, and we put a callout to our community for paramedics or pharmacists or RN’s that were able to issue a vaccine and they volunteered and came to help us. So, it’s a community wide effort,” Rowe said. “The volunteers are what’s making this possible and then the yellow vests are a lot of our volunteers, district employees, and then every school district is pitching in with the workforce to help make sure [the clinic] runs. It’s been quite a sizable effort.”
As for how educators are feeling about the momentous occasion, a few were able to give their insight.
Instructional coach and specialized teacher at Huntley High School Jack Towne, described thinking about the unknowns and possible side-effects to the vaccine, but is confident in the science and research done on it.
“I’m glad we’re doing it. I think it’s fantastic. The process itself was really easy. It looks like a well-oiled machine running in here, but yeah it was simple enough. I’m glad that so many people in the district are doing it. I think it’ll help move us back to what things were like before,” Towne said.
Towne was able to provide his final thoughts on anyone who is hesitant about getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
He stated, “I would say do some research. I mean you can find research on people telling you how terrible it is, but actually look at what that research is backed by, by doing that research because you know, the science behind it is solid and you know, there’s so much information out there to not be tripped out by the misinformation. If there’s one article that says it’s bad, well find another one and verify your sources. It’s all about being informed and knowing what you’re walking into.”
Laura Jenkins, who has been a math teacher at Huntley High School for nine years, was thrilled at the prospect of moving towards the right direction in being able to return students to full in-person learning.
When asked what she was most excited about in regards to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Jenkins responded with, “Just to be with people again. Students [and] my family. My mom and dad both received the Moderna [vaccine] here in McHenry County. My sister received Pfizer. She’s also an educator, and my husband’s getting it here, today (Feb. 11). He’s in District 47.”
She added, “If we want to get our lives back to normal, it’s going to have to be the both of us getting it. So, I understand that people make personal decisions, but it does have public impact.”
Chesak Elementary School principal Jennifer Zayas explained that she had no hesitations about receiving the vaccine. Stating, “I’m not nervous. You know, you hear about it, but then you think about having some side-effects is better than getting sick and having COVID. I just say that we’re all keeping the community and area safe by doing this. It doesn’t hurt. I thought it was going to hurt, but it doesn’t hurt. Just come get it and you will be fine. It’s very quick, in and out.”
Fifth grade teacher at Conley Elementary School Sarah Prehm expressed that despite some hesitation about the COVID-19 vaccine, she understood that the benefits outweighed the risks.
“[I’m] super thankful that [the district] was able to offer it to us because many districts, their teachers, have to go elsewhere to find their own vaccine. If you have the opportunity to jump on it, do it. Many teachers are getting the opportunity to get it through the district,” Prehm said.
Huntley High School nurse Donna Kunz, was delighted to share how proud she was at all the nurses who were volunteering at the clinics.
“I was trying to explain to them earlier how rewarding this is because we actually are part of history, fighting this pandemic. I will say that it is very gratifying because these women are all volunteering. Not only from our district, but from other districts in the area. I mean they could be off today and they’re not, they’re here,” Kunz said.
To combat any of the potential misinformation that individuals might come across, Kunz advised,
“The most important thing is that they go on the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website and read [about] it. You know, really research it. It is very effective. It may not totally prevent COVID, but at least they stand a chance of not having a severe case otherwise and having complications. I truly believe in researching and reading and following the mitigations that we have in place right now. As far as, washing your hands and social distancing and things like that. I can’t advise people to get it. I hope many people will.”
A second clinic to provide educators with their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, will take place March 11 through March 12.
