First teachers in region roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccine

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The first teachers in the Charlotte area have started getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Union County teachers and school staff 50 and older rolled up their sleeves Friday morning. School officials expect at least 1,000 employees to get their first shots during the event, which runs through Saturday.

The event was planned prior to the state’s vaccine prioritization changing and the county got approval to move forward.

Carrie Burgess, a teacher assistant at Union Academy, told Channel 9 she was very excited.

“I feel very honored and I feel like it’s a great opportunity,” she said. “It’ll help keep me safe, my family safe and the children that I work with safe, so any extra mile that I can go to keep my children safe means a big deal to me.”

We talked to Danell Kearns as she walked in to get her first vaccine dose. She’s an art teacher at New Town Elementary School.

“My husband, he was very wary of me coming back face to face. This is my passion, so I don’t have a choice, this is what I want to do but yes it is scary, considering the fact that we have kids get COVID and other staff members so that’s why I am here today, I can’t wait to get this shot,” she said.

Kearns told us she thinks vaccines are one of the tools that would make more educators feel more comfortable back in the classroom and help get back to the world we once knew.

“This is extremely important and I encourage as many people to get this shot as possible because I think that is what’s going to make the difference,” she said.

Teachers and staff can also get vaccinated on Saturday.

Any Union County educators who weren’t able to get an appointment for this week’s event can submit prescreen forms at either Atrium Health or public health to get appointment information once group three is released.

>> Channel 9 education reporter Elsa Gillis spoke with those rolling up their sleeves and will have much more on this story on Eyewitness news starting at 5 p.m.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are also working to get staff vaccinated.

CMS sent a letter to staff saying they are in talks with the county about getting employees vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Rowan-Salisbury school district is working closely with its local health department to figure this out as well.

Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines (NCD)

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