Leon County Schools reports 2 new COVID cases; 187 people hospitalized tallahassee.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tallahassee.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
COVID variants remain a concern for some parents
Some said they were afraid that variants of the virus could potentially spread within the classroom.
Buck Lake Elementary School teacher Laura McDermott added: As educators, we must follow the science. A request for comment to county health officials is pending.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking and a three-foot distance between students in elementary classrooms when masks are used, regardless of the community s spread of the virus.
Local resident Wendy Halleck told the Board that her granddaughter had contracted COVID-19 in early months of the pandemic in Leon County.
Leon County Schools officials will not require staff or students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine the public school district does not determine which diseases students must be immunized against.
On April 5, teenagers 16 and older and adults will be eligible for the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. And local K-12 education officials are encouraging employees and students who are eligible to be vaccinated.
“We’re not requiring (a COVID-19 vaccination) by any means, but we’re encouraging people to get the vaccination, without question, Assistant Superintendent Alan Cox told the Tallahassee Democrat on Thursday. Cox oversees health and wellness in the district.
More than 5,800 people are still waiting on a COVID-19 vaccine from the Leon County Department of Health. We are not able to provide an approximate wait time for call backs and continue to ask our senior community for patience as we continue to manage a high volume of request forms, Pam Saulsby, Leon County health department spokeswoman, wrote in an email to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The local health department did not specify how many doses of the vaccine it currently has and noted that the vaccine doses it does receive are shared with local healthcare providers.
Saulsby added that if seniors miss a call from the health department or Leon County volunteers, their names remain on the department s master list. Volunteers will continue to call, but will not leave voicemails, she said.