Canyons District Vaccine Rollout Underway Every Thursday

1500 canyons district employees, most older the 50 years received their Covid vaccines last Thursday with many reporting sore arms from the injection.

Vaccinations through Salt Lake County Health Services will continue for the foreseeable future on Thursdays for all teachers in the district. That’s the goal. Once the teachers are immunized against Covid, the hope is that things can return to “normal,” whatever that is at this point in time. One district employee said, “It’s a step in the right direction.”

Echoing the sentiments of many, Dr. Rick Robbins, Canyons School District Superintendent, said, “We are grateful to be able to offer these vaccines to our employees. Like so many of our teachers and support staff I have looked forward to this day as the start of the road to recovery.” 

After the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was green-lighted by the Food and Drug Administration in mid-December, Canyons School District announced the beginning of its vaccination roll-out program.

The beginning of the roll-out also coincided with implementation of a new policy stating that if students in classrooms are in close contact with someone discovered to have the Coronavirus and both were wearing masks, quarantining will no longer be necessary.

Addressing the issue of whether or not vaccination would be required for CSD employees, Erika Bradshaw, president of the Canyons Education Association, said that “we realize a decision to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination program is a personal one…and we respect [that]…  but we also believe that the vaccination is a safe and vital tool that will ensure the well-being of our dedicated teachers.” She concluded by saying that it would not be required, though vaccination would be encouraged for all, and would remain available for those who want it.

For many with significant health concerns, any signs of progress are welcome and encouraging, even if the vaccine will not be made available to most Americans for several more weeks and months. Unfortunately, the rapid roll-out that had been hoped for after goals set by the presidential Administration and other government agencies near the beginning of December (with the mark set at administering 20 million Coronavirus vaccines by 2021 as part of the Warp Speed initiative) has fallen greatly behind schedule, due to a variety of complications as healthcare facilities and government distributors across the nation have struggled to put infrastructure into place to ensure safe storage of the vaccine. 

As of December 30, 2020, only around 2 million vaccines had been administered, though now, nearly two weeks later, more than eight million have been received across the United States. CSD Superintendent Rick Robbins remains optimistic, urging an emphasis on hope and trust in the abilities of all involved in the program to get the job done, as well as in the hard work and efforts involved in the broader national initiative by scientific researchers, health care workers, and more, noting in his concluding statement that “to go from the discovery of a new virus to a tested vaccine in less than a year is in [itself] an extraordinary achievement. The scientific community has… [finally] given the world reason to hope for a chance to heal.”