Hempfield schools preparing for possible staff vaccinations

Staff at Hempfield Area School District could be next in line to receive the covid-19 vaccine.

According to a letter by Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, district leaders are working with Hayden’s Pharmacy in Youngwood to provide an opportunity for staff to receive the vaccine early next month.

“We are supporting this process to protect our staff and hopefully reduce the future need to move schools to remote only instruction,” Wolicki said in the letter.

Feb. 3 is the tentative date for when staff could receive the vaccine. That date could change depending on when a vaccine shipment arrives at the pharmacy.

Wolicki declined further comment due to the tentative nature of the situation.

District leaders this month expressed interest in partnering with an independent pharmacy to get staff vaccinated after several cases were reported at the district this school year. Since Jan. 1, the district has had 36 positive cases between staff and students, which forced several district schools to temporarily close to mitigate spread of the virus.

The vaccination efforts by Hempfield mirror those of other Westmoreland County districts, including Ligonier Valley and Greater Latrobe, both of which began vaccinating staff through partnerships with independent pharmacies.

At Ligonier, officials said the majority of staff already received their first dose of the vaccine. Greater Latrobe, which partnered with The Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in Latrobe, started vaccinating staff last weekend. During the event, 200 employees received the vaccine. An additional 200 employees are in line to receive the vaccine.

Officials said they are hopeful most staff members will receive their first dose by the end of the month.

At Hempfield, officials are creating a list of staff members interested in receiving the vaccine, Wolicki said during a Jan. 18 school board meeting.

At the time, Wolicki said, “If we receive notice that there are independent pharmacies in our area that would have it, we would certainly welcome that opportunity.”

To ensure staff would be available to receive the vaccine, Feb. 3 tentatively is marked as a remote learning day. A final determination will be made Monday, after school leaders are notified about the vaccine shipment.