Waiting for their ‘big day to exhale’: Many Spokane-area teachers going back to class without receiving COVID-19 vaccine

As more students return to class, it’s tempting to indulge in some wishful thinking that soon all will be well.

During a back-to-school discussion Wednesday night, Spokane Public Schools board member Nikki Lockwood shared that she was “looking forward to the time when all of our educators are vaccinated.”

Added Lockwood: “That will be a big day to exhale.”

However, teachers in Spokane and the rest of the region shouldn’t hold their breath. The COVID-19 vaccine supply chain is strained and most teachers don’t qualify anyway under current state guidelines.

Like it or not, most of them will be moving back into classrooms without the protection of a vaccine.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, teachers may not be going back at all until they get their shots.

With only four months left in the school year, a there’s a sharp geographic-political contrast over the relative importance of teacher safety and the need to bring more students back to class.

And while Spokane and other local districts are trying to maximize staff safety, the push back to schools is well under way.

By March 1, almost every student who chooses to do so will be back in classes at least one day a week.

In contrast, Seattle Public Schools hasn’t returned a single grade level back to buildings. The state’s largest district had planned to bring kindergartners and first-graders back on March 1.

However, that date was scrapped after fruitless negotiations with the Seattle Education Association, which pointed to high COVID-19 numbers and the lack of a vaccine for most of its members.

As of Thursday, the district plans to continue negotiations that would keep students in two groups and bring them back for two days of in-person instruction.

It hopes to update parents about final arrangements by Feb. 22.

In comparison, Spokane Public Schools – criticized by some for its methodical rollout – is moving briskly.

Spokane and other districts are also backed by health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all the way down to the Spokane Regional Health District.

Last week, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said that vaccinating teachers isn’t a prerequisite for the safe reopening of U.S. schools.

“There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen,” Walensky said. State and local health officials also urged a safe, methodical approach to reopening, while Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal have cited low in-school COVID-19 transmissions – regardless of the learning model.

“Get to the business of serving young people,” Reykdal urged.

And so they have, at least in the Spokane area.

During Wednesday night’s school board meeting, Superintendent Adam Swinyard and senior staff shared the progress made so far and the steps that lie ahead.

“The District’s intent is to return to in-person instruction as soon as possible when it is determined safe,” staff shared in a PowerPoint presentation.

Safety measures include rigid cleaning protocols, a health attestation process and enforcement of social distancing.

The presentation also listed phasing considerations, including the rate of in-school transmission, case counts,availability of substitute staff, the effectiveness of contract tracing and compliance with health and safety regulations.

Intentionally or not, “vaccine distribution” was at the bottom of the list.

However, Swinyard declared last month that lack of a vaccine isn’t the sole determinant of how quickly students may return to class.

Also, there are no outward signs that the local teachers’ union, the Spokane Education Association, will press the issue.

Jeremy Shay, president of the Spokane Education Association, said recently that teachers and staff “certainly want to have access” to the vaccines.

Shay said there was some concern about making the vaccines mandatory, though.

“Some want vaccinations right now, but we also have members who don’t want to be vaccinated,” Shay said.

The state continues to receive just a fraction of the number of vaccine doses eligible providers have been requesting each week that would allow it to reach that target.

Moreover, the only teachers currently eligible are those 65 and older, those 50 and older living in a multigenerational household, or those working with students who are unable to wear a mask.

Even meeting that demand is problematic.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the board received a vaccine update from Becky Doughty, the district’s director of health services.

Doughty was Zooming in from Shadle Park High School, where she had just administered more than 200 vaccines to eligible staff.

Another 200 were expected to get vaccinated Thursday at Rogers High School and 400 more on Friday at Ferris High School.

However, the entire operation was almost derailed when the Spokane County Health District didn’t receive any of the scheduled doses of Moderna vaccines.

“So they did a real quick switch and found us some Pfizer vaccines,” Doughty said.

“We got trained real quickly in handling the Pfizer vaccines,” she added.