More than 200 Catholic school educators and staff received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination Feb. 25 in a collaborative effort between the Archdiocese of Washington’s Catholic Schools Office and Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.
“Since last August, many of our schools have been opened with appropriate safety precautions and procedures in place,” said Kelly Branaman, Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Washington. “Advocating and securing vaccine appointments for our staff has been a priority of the Catholic Schools Office since the vaccine was made available to educators and school staff.”
The majority of educators and staff who received their vaccines Feb. 25 were from Catholic schools in Prince George’s County. Also vaccinated were Montgomery County Catholic school personnel who had not already secured their vaccinations.
In Montgomery County, non-public school teachers and staff were assigned to Johns Hopkins Community Physicians in Rockville as a central location to receive their vaccinations as appointments become available.
In the Southern Maryland counties – Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert – teachers are being vaccinated through the local health departments, an effort that is ongoing, but nearly complete, Branaman said.
OneMedical, a network of seven health clinics in the District of Columbia, is providing the city’s non-public school teachers and staff with their vaccines as appointments are made available.
Branaman explained that since Catholic school officials had not yet secured a centralized vaccination location for Prince George’s County Catholic School educators and staff, the Catholic School Office worked with Holy Cross Hospital to find an option for those staffers.
“These vaccines became available at Holy Cross, and we made a decision to prioritize Prince George’s County educators who did not have similar access to a centralized vaccination center as other areas in the archdiocese,” Branaman said.
“The opportunity to get vaccinated in order to protect our students, families and colleagues is one of the ultimate expressions of gratitude and faith in our abilities to continue to cultivate and enhance the minds, hearts and spirits of those trusted to our care,” said LaSandra Hayes, principal of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Landover Hills, Maryland. “My heart is so grateful for the opportunity to receive this potentially life-saving vaccine.”
Branaman and other members of the Catholic Schools Office traveled to Holy Cross Hospital to greet those getting their vaccinations.
“It was such a joy to be able to be there to welcome – and more importantly, to thank – our educators for being superheroes because of everything they do in their classrooms and for our students and families,” Branaman said. “There was such a sense of happiness and excitement. Many of them I have not seen since last year.”
Calling it “an incredible day filled with love, hope and excitement,” Ann Gillespie, principal of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Elementary School in Clinton, Maryland, said “the staff at Holy Cross Hospital were so organized and helpful through the entire process.”
Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington are operating under one of three models: distance learning, where all instruction is offered virtually; blended learning that combines in-person and distance learning where strict health and safety measures are enforced and students and staff are screened daily before entering the building; and modified classroom, where schools are open for in-person instruction, and where face coverings are required at all times, classroom set-ups provide for social distancing and students and staff are screened daily before entering the building.
In addition to those three options, the Catholic Schools Office offers a “Temporary Transfer Program.” In this program, parents who would prefer distance learning only for their child could work with their school principal and the Catholic Schools Office to transfer to a school offering virtual instruction full time until the parent is comfortable returning to in-person instruction.
As of right now, there are two available COVID-19 vaccines – the Pfizer and the Moderna. Both vaccines require two shots, administered between three and four weeks apart. The first shot helps the body recognize the virus and begin its immunization response and the second shot strengthens that response.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the daily rate of newly confirmed coronavirus cases in this country is 68,000, a decrease of about 35 percent from the daily rate two weeks ago. As of Feb. 24, slightly more than 28.3 million people in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in 505,642 deaths.
In the state of Maryland, 13.3 percent of residents have received their first vaccination and 6.6 percent have received both. In the District of Columbia, 10.5 percent of residents have received their first vaccination and 4.6 percent have received both.
“The pandemic continues, but with vaccines becoming more readily available to the general population, we will, hopefully, soon see our school life back to normal,” Branaman said.
