[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content][cs_content_seo]Davidson County and some of the surrounding counties have begun vaccinating those who qualify at Level 1B, which includes childcare workers! As of February 26, most Weekday School (WDS) staff have had their first shot. We are projecting that by mid-March to early April 86% of our staff will be fully vaccinated!
On February 25, Bobbie Worthington, WDS Director, was fortunate to sit in on a presentation on COVID vaccines hosted by the Tennessee Association for Children’s Early Education (TACEE). The presenter was Dr. Celia Goodson with the TN Department of Health. In response to a question on timing of things getting back to “normal”, Dr. Goodson stated, “I am being very optimistic for fall or winter of 2021/2022. However, we need to be cautious because our population of children will not be vaccinated for quite some time.” NewsChannel 5 reported that Vanderbilt is currently studying the vaccine and how it can be administered to children. They reported that they are hoping to get approval late in 2021 to begin vaccinating children. Dr. Goodson also reported that if a person has had two shots and it has been 14 days since the second shot, if that person is exposed, they are possibly safe within 90 days of the second shot. However, there is not enough research completed to know if that person, while safe themselves, may be able to expel particles to those that are not vaccinated and infect them. This could change as more studies are completed. It is the population of those not vaccinated that we have to continue to be concerned for and will keep us in our present COVID restrictions.
While it is our great hope that our staff who have elected to receive the vaccine will then be protected following the 2nd dose, however we know that the majority of the WDS that encounter each other daily are the children (unvaccinated for some time) and their parents (most falling in the last category level of vaccinations). Therefore, we will still need to be diligent in following our COVID protocols for the foreseeable future.
by Bobbie Worthington, Director, Belmont Weekday School[/cs_content_seo]