BRYAN, Texas — Baylor Scott & White Health is making a push to vaccinate more educators in the Bryan/College Station area.
The hospital is vaccinating College Station ISD faculty and staff on Thursday and Monday at CSISD's district office. They will also administer the vaccine to Bryan ISD employees on Friday and Monday at the district administration building.
Each school district will get a total of 600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. They opened the vaccine sign-up list to all employees on a first-come, first-serve basis.
College Station ISD vaccinated 200 employees Thursday.
"It's one more tool in moving back to where things were previously," said Mike Martindale, the College Station ISD superintendent.
Baylor Scott & White said turning school district's buildings into vaccination sites for educators are in an effort to make the vaccine accessible to the local community.
“We’ve been waiting so we’re very happy to accommodate anyone that wants to make it more convenient for the educators to get vaccinated," said Dr. Christe Whitbeck, the superintendent of Bryan ISD.
Baylor Scott & White Health was able to secure 2,000 doses of the newly FDA-approved vaccine. The remaining 800 doses will be used for its drive-thru vaccination site at their University Dr. clinic Saturday.
“Weights have been lifted off many shoulders of worries and concern coming to school to teach our students," said Jason Jennings, the president of Baylor Scott & White Health - College Station. "Now they’ve been vaccinated and they just hopefully put them more at ease.”
Jennings said he reached out to the districts as soon as he heard last week's news of teachers and childcare workers in texas were eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’m glad that educators got placed on that list, quite frankly I believe it should have been sooner than it was," Martindale said. "Those folks have been making things happen since August.”
The school district leaders are amazed by the teamwork other entities and organizations in the Brazos Valley have been able to do to get vaccination processes moving.
"The community should feel good that all of our leaders in all of the different areas are talking to each other and sharing ideas and best practices," Whitbeck said.