Hurley teachers start receiving vaccinations

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Hurley - A vaccination a day may keep COVID-19 away as Hurley and Mercer educators and childcare providers started receiving vaccinations this week from the Iron County Health Department.

Kevin Genisot, administrator of Hurley Public School District, said he was among the teachers scheduled to receive shots on Thursday afternoon at the Memorial Building. The Hurley School District has 95 employees to include substitutes, full and part-time staff, and board members, he said.

The Thursday teacher vaccinations resulted in around 78 of the 95 employees having or already had both shots or at least the first shot, he said. Around 20 staff were previously vaccinated for being qualified in an earlier phase category.

"The remaining 17 staff may have received the vaccine already but due to personal privacy, we simply may not be aware of it as receiving the vaccination is a personal and private choice," Genisot said.

The health department started scheduling shots for the teachers and child care provider after the Wisconsin Department of Health announced the rollout of schedule 1B COVID-19 vaccination would start Monday, March 1.

Katie Hampston, director of the Iron County Health Department, said her staff continue to vaccinate the 65 and older population and in addition to educators and childcare professionals there is also a list of eligible people to include front line and essential workers. The vaccination process is fluid and does not lend to a strict timeline. The next phase will start when the state department of health determines, she said.

"We're just continuing to move through our allocation list and am happy to be able to get our education and child care providers their vaccine," Hampston said.

The school district and the health department have a productive partnership that has allowed the schools to plan effectively to move forward safely, Genisot said. Hampston and her staff are helping the school make decisions on what is best for the students and the community, he said.

"We were able to successfully offer all sports to date by increasing the safety protocols we put in place and we plan to continue to offer all educational experiences kids look forward to in the safest and healthiest way possible as we end the year," he said.

Having over 80% of staff vaccinated should help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as well as bring some peace of mind to the pandemic, Genisot said. From Sept. 1, 2020, the school district has strived to be transparent while ensuring responses were reasonable and predictable and vaccinations adds another level of mitigation going forward.

"We have been monitoring the situation very closely and we will continue to do so but as of today, I can happily report that we have the lowest number of students and staff out on quarantine because of a close contact, which includes zero staff and six students."

It will remain a challenge to anticipate the health impact on a month to month basis, he said. But the school district remains optimistic by taking all reasonable steps to ensure students have the option to attend in-person instruction in the safest environment possible, he said.

"The community has been extremely supportive in sharing the philosophy that students need to be in school and we started with this as an option for all families in September and have not changed our offerings," Genisot said.

Community support is essential as are organizations like the Hurley Education Foundation that work to provide better educational experiences and opportunities for students, he said.

"I feel extremely proud and fortunate to be able to work with such great people and organizations within our school community," he said. "The pride continues to shine through and it's directly due to the caring and supportive community."