Teachers at a wealthy private high school in North Hollywood were able to obtain COVID-19 vaccines more than two weeks before other educators were given the green light by local health officials.
Educators at Wesley School, where tuition can range from $ 28,460 to $ 32,020, were used by Northridge Hospital Medical Center to immunize themselves against the virus through what they described as a ‘special program’.
“Many parents have expressed concern about the welfare of our teachers in these difficult times,” the school administration said in a statement on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
‘So we wanted to share that, through a special program for educators and essential workers, all Wesley employees who wanted to be vaccinated were able to take advantage of an offer last week and received their first dose.’
Wesley School educators, where tuition can range from $ 28,460 to $ 32,020, were taken advantage of by Northridge Hospital Medical Center to be immunized
The update continued: ‘As you can imagine, this is incredibly significant for our faculty and staff as we continue to roll out the school.’
The special program surprised educators from other schools in the region, who wonder how teachers were chosen in the face of vaccine shortages.
Northridge Hospital Medical Center said “tens of thousands” of health care workers and senior citizens were vaccinated, reports CBS Los Angeles. They added that they contacted public and private schools to see if teachers wanted access to the remaining 100 doses.
The elite school added in a statement that it was ‘grateful to be contacted’ for the program.
‘We firmly believe that vaccinating educators is essential for students to return to personal learning. We are therefore grateful to be contacted by a local hospital in January, indicating that it was creating a list of teachers and other essential workers who wanted to be vaccinated when the vaccine was available, ‘the school said in a statement assigned to the School’s Acting Director. Julie Galles.
“When the hospital informed us that the vaccine was available, some of our teachers made an appointment and received the first dose of the vaccine. We strongly urge public health authorities to prioritize vaccination for all educators. ‘
Galles also told the Times that while there were teachers who got the vaccine at the hospital, others met the real criteria for getting the vaccine in Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, a public district, declined the opportunity to vaccinate its teachers through the program.
‘We sought clarification from the Los Angeles County Department of Health whether doses of the vaccine are available only to teachers over 65, according to current guidelines, or whether Northridge Hospital was operating under a different set of rules that would allow any teacher to be vaccinated regardless of age, ‘the district said in a statement.
“The county confirmed that vaccines are currently available only to health professionals and people over 65 and thanked us for following the proper procedures. The county is investigating this issue. ‘
Facing a severe vaccine shortage, Los Angeles moved to temporarily close five major inoculation centers, including its giant Dodger Stadium on Thursday, even as California this week led the nation’s pandemic death toll.
Northridge Hospital Medical Center said that ‘tens of thousands’ of healthcare professionals and the elderly have been vaccinated. They added that they contacted public and private schools to see if teachers wanted access to the remaining 100 doses.
Los Angeles received just 16,000 doses of the vaccine this week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said, despite having administered just over 13,000 doses a day in recent weeks. The city has already fired 293,000 shots among its 4 million inhabitants.
The first injections of the Moderna vaccine will be launched on Thursday night, the mayor added, with venues such as the Dodgers baseball stadium – one of the largest in the country – not due to reopen before Tuesday.
Until then, vaccination services around Los Angeles County will be restricted to second doses.
So far, only health workers, residents of nursing homes and residents over 65 can receive the vaccine in the county.
Even so, health officials have announced plans to extend vaccination to other “essential” professions, including teachers, in the next two to three weeks.
“It will always be difficult when you have a shortage of finding out who goes first,” said director of the LA County Department of Public Health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, of essential workers having access to the vaccine.
Most schools in Los Angeles have been closed since last March due to the pandemic, with increasing political and public pressure to reopen schools.
Despite a recent sharp decline in cases across the state, California this week overtook New York as the US state with the majority of Covid’s deaths reported.
Although New York was hit hard in the early months of the pandemic, California – the nation’s most populous state – has become a major epicenter of Covid-19 infection this winter.
More than 45,000 Californians died from the coronavirus.
NYC SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith, who cut the COVID-19 vaccine line because she said she was a ‘teacher’, is offering classes in South Beach, Miami
Stacey Griffith, 52, sparked outrage last month after bragging about skipping the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine from the Big Apple, despite not being eligible under city rules.
She is now traveling between New York and Miami, teaching SoulCycle classes in both places.
Griffith’s scheduling profile on the SoulCycle website shows that she is offering her classes at Tony South Beach, Miami, on February 12th, 13th and 14th.
She is also due to teach in New York City on the afternoon of the 11th – the day before her apparent arrival in Florida – at noon and at 1:15 pm in New York’s Hudson Yards neighborhood.
Stacey Griffith (pictured), the SoulCycle celebrity in New York City who sparked outrage last month when she cut the line for the COVID-19 vaccine claiming to be a “teacher”, is now offering spinning classes in Miami, according to your schedule on the cycling website
After her time in Florida, she is not listed on SoulCycle’s schedule again until February 20, when she returns to New York to teach at 5:15 pm, according to the website.
The six-day hiatus appears to be an attempt to adhere to New York state quarantine rules, which require anyone who is out of the state for more than 24 hours to obtain a negative COVID test within three days of arriving back in New York, then quarantined for three days.
Last month, Griffith was criticized on social media and elsewhere after posting that she got her first vaccine against COVID. She said she traveled an hour from Manhattan to Staten Island to take the picture.
Griffith’s schedule on the SoulCycle website allows people to sign up for classes at New York City locations from February 9th to 11th and then to South Beach from February 12th to 14th
Griffith’s schedule shows that she didn’t lead any classes at SoulCycle again until February 20 in New York, perhaps in an attempt to follow the state’s strict quarantine rules
Griffith said she was eligible for the vaccine under the state’s ‘1B’ group, which includes teachers, because of her work as a spin instructor.
A New York City Department of Health official said a spinning instructor would not be eligible for a shot in group 1B, which also includes police, grocery workers, firefighters and people over 65.
After the setback, Griffith, who trained Kelly Ripa, Demi Lovato and Brooke Shields, turned to social media to say he made a mistake.
Griffith (second on the left), who trained Kelly Ripa (on the left), Hota Kotb (second on the right), Demi Lovato and Brooke Shields, said he did not take any shortcuts to ensure the vaccine appointment.
‘I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent action on receiving the vaccine. I made a terrible error of judgment and that’s why I’m really sorry, ‘she said on Instagram.
Last month, around the time of the Griffith vaccine, SoulCycle told DailyMail.com that she was operating in “personal capacity” when she signed up for the injection.
“SoulCycle plays no role in organizing or obtaining vaccines for instructors or other employees, nor do we encourage any of our SoulCycle employees to pursue vaccination priority as educators,” said a company spokesman.