'I feel so relieved': Marin County teachers get COVID-19 vaccine
MARIN, Calif. (KGO) -- Marin County began vaccinating teachers and school staff members on Sunday. Thousands received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
"I feel so relieved and I feel grateful. It was an honor to get chosen to be one of the first group of teachers to get it," said Liz Duffield, Marin County Pre-K teacher.
On Sep. 8, Duffield went back to in-person teaching along with many of her colleagues in Marin County. She's been a teacher for 29 years.
"Part of the motivation for me for going back was because as hard as we tried, we weren't meeting the needs the way that we could in person," said Duffield.
On Sunday, 1,248 school staff members were vaccinated. Marin County's Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis was at the forefront of this effort.
"Educators that have been on the frontlines. People who have been working in schools where they've opened the classrooms. Teachers, janitorial staff, kitchen staff, bus drivers, that whole community," said Dr. Willis.
According to Dr. Willis, nearly 82% of schools in Marin County are open for in person classes. The county's superintendent says they haven't had an outbreak.
VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine
"Everything we do is insuring that we follow each protocol to the tee. Our data shows that we can operate schools safely and we don't need vaccinations but the vaccinations is an extra layer of support," said Mary Jane Burke, Marin County superintendent of schools.
Marin County's health department says they are working as fast as possible. In 15 days, they've administered close to 10,000 doses at their vaccination site.
"We get somewhere between 2,000 to 7,000 doses from the state a week. It's a challenge because we don't know how many we are going to get, but as soon as we get them we know where to use them," said Dr. Willis.
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As to Liz Duffield she is going back to the classroom on Tuesday, but this time with an extra layer of protection.
"I hope all teachers get vaccinated soon," said Duffield.
Next in line to get vaccinated in this county are low income seniors.
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