Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that state officials will set aside 10% of California’s weekly allotment of COVID-19 vaccine doses for educators starting next month, an effort to jump-start the process of reopening more public school campuses as virus conditions improve in communities across the state.
The announcement, made during a visit to an Oakland vaccination clinic, marked a swift turn of events after school reopening negotiations between Newsom and state lawmakers stalled in part over the governor’s reluctance to promise vaccinations to teachers and school employees.
“The reason we can do that more formally, even though we’ve allowed for it over the course of the last number of weeks, is the window of visibility into the future with more vaccinations that are now coming from the Biden administration,” Newsom said.
Based on current vaccine allocations from the federal government, the state will reserve about 75,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for school employees. The governor did not say whether teachers and classified staff should expect to receive full treatment — current vaccines require two injections — before returning to campuses or should expect to be vaccinated soon after schools open.
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