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Those living in areas deemed to have some of the poorest access to healthy living conditions in the state, including hundreds of thousands in San Diego County, will have greater access to new doses of coronavirus vaccine due to a new allocation approach formally announced by the state Thursday.
In addition to percentages already set aside for teachers, law enforcement and childcare workers, the state will reserve 40 percent of its incoming vaccine supply for places listed in the bottom 25 percent of California’s Healthy Places Index.
The set of statewide statistics attempts to identify, by ZIP code, which places are most and least conducive to good health and well-being, taking into account two dozen factors including educational attainment, employment, home ownership, household overcrowding, air quality and even the number of nearby supermarkets.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s long-awaited deal aimed at reopening schools is doing little to quell the wave of parent anger that helped propel the recall drive against him, an effort organizers believe will soon qualify for a special election.
It also couldn’t have come at a worse time amid new flashpoints over COVID lockdowns. On Monday, Newsom announced a new incentive plan providing $6.6 billion to public schools that reopen over the next month, the same day public frustration was flaring anew over a video of Berkeley Federation of Teachers President Matt Meyer taking his 2-year-old to a private preschool and another showing Newsom and celebrity George Lopez inside a restaurant in an area that currently doesn’t allow indoor dining.
Updated on February 4, 2021 at 8:54 pm
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The raging controversy over safe school reopenings got more heated when state and federal leaders said getting all teachers vaccinated is not a prerequisite for opening schools so long as there are mitigating, safety measures in place.
“I want nothing more than to be with my students again,” said Jessi Mortensen who teaches high school in the San Dieguito Union School District. But I don t think we should do that at the sacrifice of anyone becoming ill when it’s avoidable. D
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Parents, Educators React to President Biden s Plan to Reopen Schools President Biden signs an executive order to support schools to re-open safely during his first one hundred days in office, but there is no requirement schools re-open within a certain time frame By Rory Devine •
Updated on January 21, 2021 at 11:50 pm
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On his first full day in office, President Biden signed several executive orders, including one that would his goal of reopening schools during his first 100 days in office. It is called, Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers.
The strategy includes ramping up testing, speeding up the rollout of vaccines, especially for teachers and school staff, and more funding for schools. The president said it puts the “full force of the government” behind the efforts.
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Parents of students in five local school districts have joined forces to form the Parent Association of North County San Diego, to advocate for students’ needs amid the pandemic and beyond.
They organized in response to protracted school closures that began in March, with parents asking themselves how they could expedite the move from distance learning back to campus, said Ginny Merrifield, one of the organization’s founders.
“How can we influence decision-making so that kids can choose to go back to school now,” she said. “Out of that conversation, we needed to realize that we need to share our resources and our stories, and put a lens on the decisions to put students first.”