Vaccinations for area teachers and educational personnel began on Friday and local intermediate unit officials are giving the process positive early reviews.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced last Wednesday that all school employees and contractors would be eligible for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania.

Local intermediate units were chosen as the distribution sites.

“We’ve had a very positive response from our education staff and contractors,” said Dr. Greg Koons, Schuylkill IU 29 Executive Director.

“We are very fortunate to have great working relationships with our local EMA and our school districts. I’m very proud of my administrative team at IU29. Everyone has stepped up to help with the vaccination rollout, including volunteering their time in the evenings and weekend.”

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, school employees and contractors have not been moved into Phase 1A of Pennsylvania’s COVID Vaccine Rollout Plan. They remain in 1B, as this is a special initiative.

“We couldn’t be happier with how the first few days have turned out,” said Dr. Elaine Eib, executive director of Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21. “They have been long days, but we’re already getting emails from educators about not only how happy they were to get the vaccine, but how grateful they were for the approach, from the greeters on down the line.”

With more and more area school districts bringing students back for full in-person instruction, the vaccinations are another step in the right direction, Eib said.

“Our campus was very upbeat and positive this weekend,” she said. “I think everyone felt really good about this was we move into the next phase of getting back to a sense of normalcy.”

Schuylkill school employees and contractors were surveyed last week in regard to whether or not they wanted a vaccine.

“We are very pleased with the availability of the vaccines,” said Ray Kinder, Tamaqua superintendent.

“Between this vaccination distribution, the second anticipated for the end of the month and with those who have already been vaccinated, our faculty, staff and support vendors will all have the opportunity to be vaccinated.”

Since March 1, the Tamaqua Area School District reported two cases at its high school, where a total of 15 people had to quarantine; and one at the middle school, where seven individuals were forced to quarantine.

“The vaccine supply continues to increase, and more than one million Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated,” said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam.

“This special initiative with the IUs is a great way to protect educators and support our young students without disrupting the flow of the vaccine to local providers serving seniors and other vulnerable populations.”

According to the PDE, the initial priority is vaccinating school staff who have in-person contact with students during the regular school day. The following phase of the initiative will be rolled out when more supply becomes available.

“This vaccine is another light at the end of the tunnel for thousands of students and parents,” said Gov. Wolf. “Vaccinating teachers will help students return to the classroom and stay in the classroom, which is where our children want and need to be.”

“I am thankful to everyone involved, including our Intermediate Unit teams, for their tireless work to coordinate these vaccination clinics across the commonwealth,” added Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “The efforts put forth allow our schools to continue to deliver in-person instruction in a safe and efficient way.”

Jarrad Hedes contributed to this report.