School employees begin to receive vaccinations

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SALT LAKE CITY — Some Utah Catholic Schools employees were among those who were vaccinated against COVID-19 last week, the first week the vaccines were made available to educators. With 920 employees who qualify, Utah Catholic Schools staff received 140 appointments for vaccinations.

For distribution purposes, Utah Catholic Schools are grouped with charter and other private schools. This category is expected to receive 16 percent of available doses, Superintendent Mark Longe said. Just how much of that Utah Catholic Schools employees will receive is unclear. Longe said he had initially been told the number of available vaccines would drop significantly in the second week but this week projections were more optimistic; he is hoping that the majority of teachers and school staff can receive at least their first dose within a month.

During vaccine distribution each week Longe will receive an email from the Utah Department of Health with a link that is sent out to employees where they can sign up for available appointments that week, which are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. At the expected level of vaccine distribution, Longe anticipates all of his staff could be fully immunized within two months.

“As superintendent I would like to see as many school employees vaccinated as possible so that we ensure a safe environment within all of our schools,” Longe said, adding that he was aware that a small number of employees might not be able to take the vaccine for medical reasons. Per state guidelines, Catholic schools are not requiring their employees to be vaccinated.

Utah Catholic Schools follow the protocols outlined by the Utah State Board of Education. At press time Long had not received any information that those protocols had changed in light of the vaccination of educators, but “I would anticipate the state would modify those protocols as school employees become protected by the vaccine,” he said.

At a minimum, staff and students will continue to wear masks and take certain safety precautions through the end of the school year, he said.

He is hopeful that the 2021-22 school year will be much closer to what used to be considered normal, including returning to a full five-day classroom schedule and expanding enrollment at all schools.

“I think we’re all looking forward to getting back to more of a regular pre-COVID schedule and pre-COVID environment even though we’ll still be living with it,” he said. “We’re anticipating – and there’s hope for next year  – that we’ll be able to be more normal. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to lift a lot of the restrictions due to the vaccination of our community. It will be nice to get back to a regular schedule and routine and that students will be able to interact with other students in their school on a more regular basis.”

Longe expressed appreciation to the Utah Catholic Schools community for following safety protocols and to staff members who, he said, have done a “remarkable job” in taking on additional responsibilities during the pandemic.

“I believe they’ve done it extremely well and they’ve been very effective,” he said. “My thanks to the school communities for doing such an incredible job during a very difficult time.”