Burns, legislators’ efforts mean vaccines for teachers
New state plan will make vaccine available for educators
Rep. Frank Burns March 3, 2021 | 11:20 AM
EBENSBURG, March 3 – Less than a week after state Rep. Frank Burns and other legislators urged the Wolf administration to reprioritize vaccine efforts, the administration said today it would begin prioritizing educators using the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“I’m glad the administration heard us and decided to work with us to start getting the vaccine to teachers, which hopefully will help get all of our students back to school,” Burns said. “I’m still fighting to get the vaccine to those who need it most, including frontline workers like police and corrections officers.”
Under the administrations’ plan, the state Department of Health will use its supply of the new Johnson and Johnson vaccine to setup vaccination clinics at intermediate units across the state for educators. Those clinics could begin as quickly as March 10.
Burns signed onto a letter sent to Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam on Wednesday, which urged the state to change its Phase 1A category to include teachers, corrections officers.
Since the start of the pandemic Burns has championed smart, commonsense and data driven responses to the pandemic, and has repeatedly urged the state to ensure the folks most at-risk are first inline for the life-saving medicine, and to create a centralized vaccine registry.
“The vaccine rollout has been frustrating and confusing for millions of Pennsylvanians, who were told they are eligible for the vaccine, but unable to find it,” Burns said. “We can and should do better for those who are most at-risk to this virus.”