NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Local parents are getting involved to help teachers get their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Tamara Wieder is the parent of a child at Franklin Elementary School and she was up at 4 a.m. Thursday morning as 40,000 appointments were made available for educators across the state.
She and several other parents are booking appointments for the teachers that work with her kids.
“The system is so difficult and it really requires the flexibility of someone to sit at their computer all day, hitting refresh … and teachers are teaching, so they can’t be doing that,” she said.
Wieder is part of a groundswell of parents in the Bay State that are pitching in to get teachers vaccinated.
“They’re some of the most deserving people and people who really need the vaccines in order to get back in front of the kids full-time,” she said.
Masha Leuner started a similar program for staff at Brookline’s Lawrence School by creating a spreadsheet that paired parents with educators.
“When one person in our group got into the system they were able to quickly schedule more staff, more food service workers, more teachers,” said Lawrence School Parent Rachel Goldman.
The group of volunteer vaccine schedulers started registering teachers last week when CVS began opening up slots at the direction of President Joe Biden.
“Within about 48 hours, most educators on our list were already booked with vaccination appointments,” said Lawrence School Co-PTO Chair Christina Grady.
Almost immediately, the photos of successful shots in arms started rolling in.
“They felt that the parent community – after months and months of division had shown up in force and solidarity with the educators,” Leuner said.
Anyone looking to start a similar program in their school district, click here.
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