Vaccination of Washington state teachers, school employees should be fast-tracked

Puyallup School District took a big step Tuesday by bringing kindergarten and first-grade students back to campuses, two days a week. Tacoma plans a slightly more cautious transition next week, welcoming kindergartners on a part-time basis. Other area districts are in the midst of similar reboots with staggered returns by grade level, youngest first.

This is good news. The coronavirus pandemic put Washington’s 1.1 million public school students under house arrest last March, causing months of stagnation under virtual-learning programs. School reopening plans were announced, then canceled, as districts ran in circles trying to follow state and local guidelines.

We’re encouraged that Gov. Jay Inslee and his Department of Health (DOH) have recently shown more urgency to get kids back in classrooms; it’s consistent with the best available public health science and education research.

But until most teachers and other school employees get their COVID-19 shots, the reopening of K-12 campuses is sure to remain a frustrating jumble. And Washington’s children will suffer for it.

This is why school employees of all ages — not just those 50 and older — should receive higher priority in the state’s vaccine rollout.

Let’s hope pressure grows for Inslee and DOH to change the state’s multi-phased vaccination timeline, now that a bipartisan chorus is rising in the Legislature.

The Democratic chairs and top-ranking Republicans on the House and Senate education committees signed a joint letter Monday, expressing disappointment that school employees younger than 50 may have to wait to be inoculated until at least April.

“If timelines slip and school employees are unable to receive their first dose until later in April, by the time they are fully vaccinated and gain full protection from the virus, school districts across Washington will be nearing the end of the school year,” the four leaders wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

All who wish to get the COVID-19 vaccine should have access in February as part of Phase 1B2, according to the letter from Sens. Lisa Wellman and Brad Hawkins and Reps. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Alex Ybarra.

We agree. Ditching an age-based approach will smooth the way for schools to reopen ASAP times two — as soon as possible, as safely as possible.

The lawmakers’ letter echoes a similar plea last week, signed by 15 Pierce County public school superintendents and sent to state health officials. The local school chiefs sent another version to Dr. Anthony Chen, director of the Tacoma-Pierce Health Department.

The letter criticizes the state’s schedule for being “too rigid” and requests flexibility to vaccinate staff who have close student contact, regardless of age.

That includes teachers, of course, but also bus drivers, lunchroom workers, office staff and custodians, among others, Bethel Superintendent Tom Seigel told us Tuesday.

“It would certainly allay a lot of concern among some of our employees who are otherwise going to be a low priority,” said Seigel, who leads Pierce County’s third-largest district, with nearly 20,000 students and 3,000 staff.

Moving some people to the front of the line isn’t easy, as it means others have to move back. The Trump administration has complicated things by calling for states to vaccinate everyone over age 65 or with chronic health conditions, in concert with the federal release of more vaccine doses.

But a growing body of research shows how imperative it is to remove obstacles and get kids back in classrooms. A new study by McKinsey & Company found the average American student is likely to lose five to nine months of cumulative math learning by the end of this school year; the outlook is worse for students of color, who are projected to fall six to 12 months behind.

Meantime, isolation is taking a toll on young people’s social, emotional and mental wellbeing that’s virtually incalculable.

Ask a pediatrician, and he or she will likely tell you the extended shutdown of in-person learning is the most colossal failure of Washington’s pandemic response.

Our state Constitution says that providing an ample education for Washington children is government’s “paramount duty.” It’s not a stretch to say vaccinating those who provide this education should be a paramount duty for state health officials.